


Star in the Sand

by TheWildOmega



Category: One Piece
Genre: Crocodile is secretly a caring person, Depression, Even though he hates it, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Orphanage, Past Child Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Slow Burn, Smut, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:35:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 21
Words: 107,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24746173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWildOmega/pseuds/TheWildOmega
Summary: Everyone has a soulmate, one person that destiny saw fit to pair together, two halves to a whole. What happens though when a person goes almost half their life without finding that said person? What happens when a person has no one? Well they give up hope.
Relationships: Crocodile (One Piece)/Original Female Character(s), Crocodile (One Piece)/Reader
Comments: 60
Kudos: 211





	1. Chapter 1

Finding his way to a small island he sighed and looked over the tiny town with a stoic expression, puffing on his cigar. "Go see about finding us a place to stay." he spoke to the man behind him without turning.

"Yes sir." Bonez said before walking past him towards the town. 

Glancing around he let out a sigh and decided to go walk around and see what this place had to offer. He planned on keeping a low profile, not wanting the marines to be on him again so soon. He would have to start looking for a new crew, Bonez alone wouldn't be enough. Finding a small bar he headed inside and groaned at the occupants. Taking a seat in the far corner he ordered a glass of whiskey and then settled himself back, smoking and watching the people for anyone who might fit the bill. He sat there for a few hours, until all the light left the sky and night settled in. Finishing off his glass of his drink he dropped a few bills on the table and stood. There were a few men that had caught his attention but he would have to think on the matter. Walking down the street he glanced around to the different establishments, looking for the inn that Bonez had came to tell him about earlier. 

_"here..."_

Furrowing his brows at the whispering voice he stopped and turned his head to glance towards the little raggedy hut. There looked to be only a small amount of light coming in through the stained glass windows. The wood that made the building was old and it looked as if it would fall down any second, the slate roof sagging at an odd angle. Turning his attention to the barely readable wooden sign in the tall grass he saw the words 'Physic readings.' Huffing out a puff of smoke he turned and started walking again.

_"Crocodile..."_

Snapping his eyes back to the hut he narrowed his eyes. "Who is there?" he asked. When the door opened with a creak he lifted his chin and stared with distrust. 

_"Come and the things you need the most will be revealed."_

Growling in the back of his throat he took a deep breath, he was going to turn away, he wanted to turn away but he couldn't, his legs seemed to be moving for him. Dipping his head to fit under the door he stood tall and heard as the door slammed shut behind him. He was on high alert, this was by no doubt a trap. Looking around the inside he saw it fairly bare other than the small table placed in the center of the room with two chairs on opposite sides of it and a black candle burning in the center. Before he could say a word the chair closest to him pulled out. 

_"Sit."_

Taking a deep breath he walked forward, the old boards creaking under his feet. Pushing out his coat he took a seat in the chair, not sure if the thing would hold up to his weight. "Alright I am sitting, now what?" he asked, his voice full of annoyance. When no one answered he growled, "I don't have time for this." he grumbled and went to stand but the candle flickered out, leaving the room in complete darkness. Stilling he listened, waiting for an attack. 

_"Don't be so impatient young man."_

Suddenly the candle relight and when he looked in front of him he saw an old woman sitting int he chair in front of him. She was dressed in a hole ridden cloak, her grey hair a mess around her. There was a grey cloth tied around her eyes with blood staining it where her eyes would be. Her old skin was ridden with wrinkles and glancing to her hands he saw long and broken nails hanging from each finger. She was a ghastly sight, that as sure. 

"It is rude to stare boy." the woman said in a hissing voice. 

Slowly raising his eyes back to her face he saw her cracked lips in a firm line. "What is it you want from me?"

"It is not what I want but what you need." she told him. 

Huffing he rose one of his brows, "I doubt you can give me anything I need." he told her. 

"No I can not give it to you, it is something you must find on your own." she told him. Placing her hand on the table she opened her palm, "Give me your hand." 

He didn't move, he wasn't stupid but the longer she looked at him the colder he became, a bead of sweat rolling down the back of his neck. Gritting his teeth he slowly lifted his hand and placed it in hers. She was quick to flip it over, turning his palm upward. Next thing he knew her other hand was moving a knife of sorts towards it and he panicked. Going to pull his hand away he found he couldn't' move, couldn't turn to sand, and his eyes went wide as she brought the knife down, not again. To his surprise she didn't cut it off and deep slice to his palm was all that occurred, his lip twitching a little at the pain. Watching his blood fill his palm her grip on his hand stayed strong while she placed down the blade and grabbed a bowl with different things already inside. The smell was disgusting and he watched as she lifted his hand to dump the blood in his palm into the bowl before releasing it. Pulling his hand back towards him he looked at the deep cut and grunted. Lifting his eyes back to her he saw her now mumbling something incoherent. When then contents started smoking he frowned and knot his brows. The red smoke drifted from the bowl and started to circle him. "What is this?" he asked. 

"You have two weeks." the old woman spoke.

"For what?" he asked. the smoke now seeming to engulf him. "Two weeks for what?!" he yelled. He couldn't see a thing, a strong wind blew his hair out of place and muffled any noise. 

_"Find your star."_

Suddenly the chair and floor under him opened up and he was falling. Blackness surrounded him. Trying to turn to sand nothing happened and he started to panic. Falling downward he saw a flash of light and then landed on something on his back, a sharp pain in his head before everything went black. 

..............................

Chopping the onion you listened to the music playing from your phone and sang along to it in your head. Lifting ht cutting board you dumped the onions into the skillet, scrapping the remaining pieces that had stuck to the board inside. Adding salt and pepper you moved to grab the garlic when a loud crashing came form the living room. Snapping your eyes to the room you let out a scream when you saw what it was. What the hell?! Taking a few steps over to the man that had smashed your coffee table you saw his eyes were closed, the back of his head resting against the bent iron frame of the shattered glass table. Covering your mouth with your hand your eyes snapped to the ceiling, expecting a hole to be there but there was no such thing. Looking back down at him you noticed he was massive, huge, he had to be at least seven feet if not taller. swallowing thickly you carefully moved over to him, side stepping the glass that covered the floor. Seeing a large gold hook in place of his left hand you furrowed your brows. Standing over him you scanned his body, grey pants with black boots and a black button up shirt, a green scarf like thing tucked into it. Moving your eyes up to his face you saw shoulder length black hair adorned his head with a few strands in his face. There was a long, thin scar that went the hole way across his face and suddenly you stiffened. This guy looked just like Crocodile from One Piece. Was he some kind of cos-player? If so he did a hell'a job with his outfit and prosthetic. Still though what was he doing in your house? How did he get in here? Seeing blood on his palm and a few drops under his head you furrowed your brows. Bending over you gently shook his shoulder, "Hello?" Nothing. "Hello." you said again. Moving your fingers to his neck you felt a pulse and let out a sigh of relief, at least he wasn't dead. You needed to call the police... but what would you say? They would never believe you if you told them this guy, that you didn't know, fell from the ceiling and crashed into your table. They already didn't like you, no doubt they would think you pushed him. Sitting your lip you stood and moved over to the stove to turn off the burner before looking back at him.

Grabbing the broom you quickly swept up as much of the glass as you could for now. Moving behind him you pushed your arms under his and lifted him up some. Trying to somehow get him off the mangled frame of the table you tried lifting him but lost your balance and dropped him, a small grunt leaving him as he fell limply to the floor. "Whoops." you muttered. Deciding it would be easier to just move the frame you untangled his limbs from it and lifted it up, carrying it to the other side of the room for now. Going back to him you rolled him from side to side while you swept up the glass around and under him. Grabbing the fur lined coat you balled it up and carried it outside so you could shake off the glass before laying it on your armchair to be taken care of later. Knowing there was no way you could lift him onto the couch you grabbed a spare blanket and laid it under him before rolling him back onto it. Glancing to the gold hook you knit your brows, should your remove it? No, it wasn't a problem right now. Moving to your bathroom you grabbed the first aid supplies you needed and went back to clean and bandage his hand, seeing him flinch a little when you patted the deep gash with alcohol. There was only a small cut on the back of his head and a large bump but you couldn't do much about that. Once you were done you brushed back his hair and checked his breathing. It was steady so that was good. Covering him with the throw from your couch you nodded. Standing you moved back to the stove and turned your burner back on. Hopefully he would wake up in a little while and then he would just go without giving you any trouble. 

............................

Turns out he must have hit his head harder than you had first thought because he was still exactly where you left him when you woke up the next morning. Gnawing the corner of your lip you looked at his, what you assumed was, still sleeping form. Okay you would give it a few more hours and if he wasn't up by then you would call the police. Making your coffee and boiling a couple of eggs you grabbed the laundry basket and moved outside to hang them out. You had taken the liberty of washing his coat, seeing as it had glass all over it. It was extremely heavy when wet but you managed to toss it over the line with the rest of your clothes to dry. Okay laundry is drying, what's next.... trash.

Snapping his eyes open he shot up and looked around to try and figure out what was going on. Looking around the strange home he saw he was laying on the floor, well on a blanket that was on the floor but still. Another blanket was over his legs and pooled around his waist where it had fallen when he sat up. Feeling something on his hand he lifted it up and saw it had been bandaged. But by who? Where was he? Standing he felt his head throb and groaned, rubbing the back of his head to feel a large bump there. Brushing back his hair he looked around the home again and noticed things that he had never seen before. There was a large black thing on top of a a shelf with books lining the shelves. He could smell coffee in the air and something citrus. Listening for the owner of the home all that met him was silence. Taking quiet steps around something caught his eye out the window and he looked out to see someone doing laundry outside in the yard. Narrowing his eyes he moved towards them. 

Unpinning the sheets on the line you froze when a large, dark shadow showed behind the swaying fabric. Unpinning the next pin you lowered it and revealed the mystery man. He was so freaking big, massive. Yep he definitely had to be taller than seven feet with his shoulders at least three across. He was staring down at you with a hard, uncaring look. Wow this guy was good. "You are awake." you said. 

It was a woman, a small woman. Her hair was long and a reddish color. She had soft features and two sea blue eyes looked up at him, not a hint of fear or ill temperament there. "Where am I?"

Raising your brows you tossed the sheet into the basket with the other items and looked back up at him. "At my home." you told him. 

"And how is it I got here?" he asked her. 

Sighing you moved down the line to grab the next item, "You tell me, I was cooking diner last night when you quite literally fell into my living room." 

"What do you mean I fell into your living room?" he asked and saw her point towards a pile of bent metal. 

"I mean you appeared out of no where, smashing my coffee table. I guess you hit your head on it pretty good or something because you were out all night." you told him. "So now I'll ask you, how is it you managed to do that?" you asked calmly. 

Frowning he looked at his hand and then at the woman and narrowed his eyes, "This is all just some trick. You are her, that witch, that old hag!" he growled and saw her brows furrow together, annoyance now filling her eyes. 

"Might want to think about laying off the alcohol or drugs or whatever you are on." you huffed. Grabbing the last item of clothing you tossed it into the basket and lifted it up onto your hip. "Your coat is over there, take it and leave." you told him, going up the stairs. "Oh and your welcome for taking care of you and not having you arrested." you called back as you left him outside. Moving to your couch to drop the basket on it you went to the fridge to take out something for dinner. "Psychopath." you mumbled under your breath. 

Growling when he heard the door slam he raised his hand to grabbed his coat but nothing happened. Frowning he tried again but still nothing happened. What the hell was going on? Marching over he snatched his coat off the line, tossing it over his shoulder and noticing the clean scent that came form it, she had washed it? Glancing back to the small home he felt a strange pulling but let out a huff and shook his head before heading down the path. Getting to the end of it he looked down and saw what looked to be black rock on the ground. Moving his foot to it he tapped the surface and found it solid. He had never seen anything like this before. Stepping out onto it he looked left then right, seeing nothing but trees in both directions. With a heavy sigh he moved into the middle of it where a yellow line was painted and started walking. He had been going for what had to be close to a hour now when he heard a noise. Looking behind him he saw something coming towards him with two lights in the front. Knitting his brows he stood there but then it let out this loud sound and swerved around him at a fast speed. Confused he heard it again and just did turn in time to see another one like before, only bigger coming towards him, this one not looking like it was going to go around him. Just managing to hurry off the black surface he watched as the thing went by, 

"Get out of the road you fucking idiot!" a man yelled. 

Gritting his teeth he tried to yet again use his powers but nothing would happen, not even a speck of sand leaving the ground. Panting he looked around, not knowing where he was. Feeling the start of rain he looked up and then around him at the trees. Turning his head back towards the direction he came he took in a deep breath before walking back the way he came. By the time he got back to the home the sky was almost completely dark and he was soaked. Glancing back towards the bent pile of metal he tried to think back on what had happened. He remembered the old woman, then he was falling. Sighing he moved up the steps and looked through the glass pane to see the small woman at the stove, cooking he would presume. Brushing back his wet hair he raised his hook and knocked three times on the door. Seeing her turn towards him, he noticed her shocked look before she finally moved over to open the door. She said nothing and he dipped his chin the tiniest amount, knowing he had no right to ask anything of her. "I would like to apologize for earlier, it was very rude of me." he said, the words tasting strange on his tongue. Seeing her eyes soft he raised his brows, "I don't understand any of this." he said, motioning his hand out around him. "I..I don't know where I am or how I got here." he admitted. 

Looking over the dripping stranger you felt something pull at you and furrowed your brows. He looked tired, his wet coat hanging heavily on his back and the front of his shirt and pants clinging to him slightly. It was bad to say but he kind of reminded you of a wet puppy. Sighing you opened the door and stepped back to allow him inside. "Can you take your shoes off, I don't want mud all over the house." you said in a soft voice. 

Doing as she asked he removed his shoes and left them by the door. Turning back towards her he saw her gone and furrowed his brows. 

"Come on, let's get you out of those wet clothes." 

Following her voice he went through a room with more books and a small desk with a strange thing sitting on top of it, pictures moving across the screen. This place was getting weirder and weirder. 

"Here you go." 

Looking to the woman he saw her holding out a pile of clothes and raised his brows. 

"They aren't going to fit you properly but they'll have to do while yours are drying. There is a bathroom with a shower through there." you told him, pointing to the room to his right. 

"These are your clothes?" he asked, looking over her tiny frame and knowing there was no way in hell he would be able to fit into the clothes. 

"No, they are my ex boyfriends, he left them here and I haven't thrown them out yet." you shrugged. 

Nodding he took the clothes from her and moved towards the bathroom. Looking for a candle or light of sorts he saw the woman come beside him, touching something on the wall before a bright light filled the room. Looking up to the ceiling he rose a brow and saw her walk away. Shutting the door behind him he set the clothes on the vanity and looked around the small room. There was a tub and shower, toilet and the vanity. It wasn't high class but it was functional. Removing his hook he placed it by the clothes and started to remove his wet ones. Figuring out the shower he stepped inside and huffed when he noticed the shower head only came up to his mid chest. This was going to be an annoyance. 

..........................

Hearing the bathroom door open you finished platting the food and saw him walk around the corner. "Here you must be hungry." you said, placing the plate on the table along with silverware and a napkin. Moving to grab a glass you filled it with water and added it to the table as he walked over. The clothes as you imagined were too small, the lounge pants coming up to his mid calf and the t-shirt clinging to his frame that you could now tell was muscled. The large golden hook was still on his left hand and you furrowed your brows but didn't say anything. 

Looking between the food and her he felt his stomach clench, he hadn't eaten a good meal in few days but still. 

Raising your brows you crossed your arms over your chest, "It's not poisoned." you told him and saw him look to you with slightly narrowed eyes. "If I wanted to kill you I could have easily done it last night when you were laying unconscious on my living room floor." you told him simply. 

Breathing out he pulled out the chair and sat down before lifting the spoon into his right hand, leaving his hook resting on his leg under the table. "Why are you helping me?" he asked in a deep voice, looking to her as she moved about the kitchen.

Washing your bowl and spoon you took a deep breath, "I don't know." you answered honestly.

He watched her for a moment longer before beginning to eat the hot soup, feeling it warm him up more. As he filled his belly he heard her moving around the house. There was a thump and then the sound of a rumbling before she walked back out. 

"You clothes are drying, it won't take long." you told him. Noticing his bowl almost empty you looked to his eyes, silver, almost white eyes. "Do you want more?" you asked. 

Nodding his had stiffly he saw her bring over the pot and fill his bowl again with the beef soup. "What is your name?" he asked as she moved away.

"Y/n." you answered, setting the pot back down and moving to fix yourself a cup of tea. "And you?" you asked as you turned back towards him, leaning back against the counter. 

"Crocodile." he said once he had swallowed his food. 

Raising a brow you looked at him with a bored look, "Yes I know who you are cosplaying as but what is your real name?"

Narrowing his eyes he looked at her, "I told you my real name, My name is Crocodile." 

"This isn't funny, I am being serious." 

Growling he slammed his hand on the table, "And I am being serious girl, I am Crocodile." he said in a deep voice. Watching her set down her cup and walk away he straightened his back, ready for her to attack him. When she walked back in with a book he furrowed his brows. 

Standing at the opposite side of the table you flipped through the manga until you found what you were looking for. "You are trying to tell me that this is you, that you are this Crocodile." you said, moving the book in front of him so he could see it. 

Looking down at the book he saw the pages were filled with black and white drawings. When his eyes focused on one that looked very similar to him he furrowed his brows. "What is this?" he asked. 

"This is a One Piece manga." you told him, letting him take the book and flip through the pages. 

"This is Alabasta." he said. 

"Yeah that's when Luffy and Croc... you fought for the last time." you said. 

Quickly flipping through the book he saw the whole fight and everything play out before his eyes. It was all here, every word said and everything. "This can't be real." he said in a low voice. 

"Exactly, you can't be him because he is a made up character, he's not real." 

"How many times must I tell you that I am the real Crocodile." he growled, glaring at her. 

"You are crazy. Don't get me wrong you pull off the look well with the clothes and scar and fake hook but this is ridiculous." you said, growing tired of this game. "When you clothes dry I will drop you off..." You didn't get to finish your sentence as you were slammed up against the fridge. Looking to the huge man you saw him glaring down at you. 

"I will say this one last time woman, my name is Crocodile. I was formally a Shichibukai, one of seven warlords of the sea, a pirate." he growled down at her. Raising his hook in front of her face he saw her eyes drop to it. "And I can assure you that my hook is not a fake." 

Looking over the hook as he placed it to your throat you frowned and then moved your eyes up to his you furrowed your brows. "I don't understand." you said in a softer voice.

It would be so much easier to just kill her, God she had annoyed him enough but he couldn't. It was like his brain and limbs weren't working together. Looking into her blue eyes he felt the rage inside of him calming down. "Nor do I." was all he said as he stepped back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments greatly appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

Sitting at the table with your second cup of tea in your hand you watched as he flipped through another one of the manga, this time one of Impale down. 

"Straw-hat is the main character of these books?" he asked and heard her hum. Rolling his eyes he looked over the scene where they made their escape. "How far back does his story go?"

"Well it starts off with him in a barrel on Alvida's ship. He had just started out and didn't even have any crew members yet."

"Alvida? How did he get in a barrel on her ship?" he asked.

"He ate all the food in it and fell asleep, he was drifting in the ocean and this cargo ship picked it up not knowing he was inside. Alvida attacked the ship, took he barrel onto her own ship and left it there. When he woke up he busted out and defeated her. He takes one of the small ships and goes to Shell Town where he picks up Zoro." you told him, lifting your cup to take another sip of your tea. 

That boy was strange, nothing about it. "And how far along does this story go? How does it end?"

"It hasn't yet, where are you at? What was the last thing that happened?" you asked him. 

Taking a deep breath he leaned back in the chair and looked at her. "I left after the war, I plan to head to the New world." he told her. 

"Ah, so you are in the two year time skip. Okay well I am a little past that." 

Narrowing his eyes he looked at her, "What do you mean two year time skip?" 

"There is a time skip in the story, two years where you don't see anything that happened, everyone mostly goes their separate ways. Luffy is very distraught over Ace's death, the Straw-hate pirates aren't even together where you are now." you said with a shrug.

"But they get back together after this... time skip?" he asked and saw her nod. Humming he thought on it all before looking back into her eyes. "You said you are further into the story than where I just came from, am I still alive?" he asked. 

"Yes." you answered simply.

Humming he tapped his foot. "So you also know everything that is going to happen in the near future." 

"Well that's not set in stone and I am not that much further." you said with a tilt of your head. 

"Everything that I have read in that book has been true to my knowledge." he stated. "So tell me what happens next." he said with a smile. 

"I'm not telling you." you said with a small grin and saw his smile drop. 

"Why not?" he growled. 

"Because that's foreshadowing and it might throw things out of wack." you told him, finishing you tea. Standing you moved towards the sink, "Besides you're not even in the next arc." you told him, putting your cup in the sink. 

Getting up he moved after her, "I am not asking, I am demanding you tell me." he said, not used to people telling him no. Seeing her turn around and look at him he saw the same calm look on her face. "You know me woman, you know what I am capable of..."

"Yes I know who you are but I am willing to bet that you haven't been able to use your powers since you got here because there is no such thing as devil fruits here." you told him with a sigh. Seeing the angry expression on his face you looked up at him and gave a small grin, "I can tell you that none of things that have happen will affect you. You have not been caught by the marines and you are not dead so let the rest be a surprise." you said with a shrug. Glancing towards the clock you saw it was well past midnight. "Look I really have to go to bed, I have to go to work tomorrow. There is a second bedroom you can stay in until we can figure out how to get you back if you would like." you told him in a calm voice. 

Looking down into her ever calm eyes he again felt his temper dwindle down and let out a deep sigh. He just couldn't seem to stay angry at her, the thought of causing her harm in any way making him feel strange. Gritting his teeth he nodded and saw her give him a small grin before she turned off the kitchen light and showed him to the guest bedroom where a simple bed waited for him. 

Seeing him standing in the door way you looked down, you knew it wasn't much, not high class living like he was used to but it was all you had to offer. "Goodnight Crocodile." you said in a soft voice before walking down the hall a bit to your own bedroom. 

He didn't say anything as she bid him a goodnight and when he heard her door shut he didn't hear the click of the lock follow. Did this woman have no fear? Perhaps she was just stupid? Looking back towards the bedroom that would be his for the time being he stepped inside and closed the door. 

.................................

Waking up he put the too tight shirt back on along with his hook before walking out of the room. Her bedroom door was closed still but he coudl hear what sounded like water dripping. Going across the hall to the bathroom he turned on the light with the switch and saw there was a folded pile of clothes on the vanity, his clothes. Quickly pulling them on he buttoned his shirt but decided to leave off the scarf for now. Brushing back his hair with his hand he glanced up at his reflection to make sure he looked decent before leaving the room. Making himself busy by looking over her books he heard her door open and glanced over as she walked into the room. 

"Oh good morning, I see you saw your clothes." you said before walking past him into the kitchen. Opening the fridge you grabbed a bottle of water and closed it to see him leaning in the entryway. "There is coffee up there if you would like some, cups are in the cabinet above along with sugar, creamer is in the fridge." You told him. Grabbing your keys and purse you turned back to him when he spoke. 

Watching her walk around and grab things he let his eyes glance over her body. She was wearing a pair of jeans that were tight fitting down to about her mid calf where they flared out some. A button up black shirt adorned her upper half and he noticed she had the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her long red hair was left hanging down her back in waves. She looked... nice, attractive. "How long will you be at work?" he asked. 

"I don't get off until twelve tonight." 

That was a long time, "Where do you work exactly?" he asked. 

"I'm a bartender at the local bar in town." you told him. "You are welcome to whatever you want, there isn't much food wise, I haven't been shopping yet but I am sure you can find something." 

Grunting he looked around the home, "And what exactly am I supposed to do all day?" he asked. 

"I don't know, read a book, watch TV, go for a walk... plan your next country domination." you told him with a shrug. 

Ignoring her sarcastic comment at the end he narrowed his eyes at her, "What is a TV?" he asked. 

Walking towards the living room you grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. Seeing his shocked and confused expression you held back your grin. "You can flip through different channels with these buttons and these control the volume. This one is to turn it on and off. There are like 300 channels so I am sure you can find something to watch." You told him, pointing to the buttons and flipping through a few channels until you saw something familiar and giggled, "Oh look Peter Pan is on, the writer of One piece based your character off the pirate in this movie." you told him. 

Furrowing his brows he watched the moving picture, seeing a young boy dressed in green flying around. "What pirate?" he asked as she handed him the remote and moved towards the door to put on her boots. 

"Captain James Hook." you told him and saw his brows drop further. "Don't look at me like that I didn't name him. I have to go, see you later, if you're not sleeping."

................................

Getting home you parked your truck and let out a heavy sigh as you opened the door and headed up the steps towards your front door. The TV was still on, you hoped he hadn't fell asleep in front of it again. He had now been here for three days and he had been doing well at keeping himself busy. He had already finished four books, one being Treasure island. For the most part he kept the house clean, there would be a few dishes but nothing more than that. Opening the front door you stepped inside and quietly took off your boots. Glancing towards the couch you saw him sitting there watching something. Looking towards the TV you rose a brow and moved over to sit on the couch, leaving a space between the both of you. Handing him the bag of food you relaxed for the first time today. "You are watching Pirates of the Caribbean?" you asked, a little amused.

"It caught my attention, they had been on for the past few hours." he said simply. Looking into the bag curiously he took out the thing wrapped up in paper.

"It's a burger and fries, I didn't know if you ate." you said, your eyes closing as your body begged for sleep. 

Humming he unwrapped the thing and looked it over before taking a bite. It was good, most of the things she had brought him were to his liking but none of it compared to her actual cooking. Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye he saw her eyes were closed and her head was resting on her palm. Over the three days he had been here she had worked everyday, leaving at around 8 or so and staying gone until she got home around 12:30. Every morning there was some sort of breakfast waiting for him meaning she woke much earlier that eight. Three days straight of working sixteen hours or more, no wonder the woman was exhausted. Not once had she complained though, he hadn't heard a single bad word out of her the whole time he had been here. "Do you work tomorrow?" he asked, seeing her eyes snap open before they hung heavily over her eyes. 

Sitting up you rubbed your eyes and nodded. "Yes, I don't have to be in until two though. If you would like we can go into town and see about finding you some new clothes before I have to go to work." you told him, forcing yourself to stand on sore feet. Going to the cabinet you pulled out the bottle of pain medicine and dumped two into your palm, hoping to kill your headache before it became a migraine. 

She would buy him clothes? So far he had been trying to deal with the ones he had been wearing and then the too small ones when he had to. Watching her moved about the dark kitchen he raised his chin. "If it isn't too much of a problem."

Shaking your head you sighed. "No you need more than one set of clothes. They won't be as high fashion as you are used to but I'll do the best I can." you told him. Realizing how that probably sounded you bit the inside of your lip and looked down. "I'm sorry. I.. I'm going to head to bed. Good night Crocodile." 

Furrowing his brows he watched her walk from the room and heard the soft shutting of her bedroom door. Had she apologized to him because she couldn't afford nice clothes? Humming he looked around her home again, it was fairly bare and simple. Other than books he hadn't seen any personal touches, there wasn't even any pictures of her family on the walls. Finishing the food she had bought him he stood and tossed the paper bag in the trash before turning off the TV and heading to the room to call it a night. 

......................................

Waking up the next morning you looked to the clock and saw it was almost ten, shit. Quickly getting out of bed you pulled on some clothes and brushed your hair and teeth. Walking out into the kitchen you saw Crocodile sitting at the table drinking his coffee, a book in his hand. "I'm sorry, I overslept." you told him but heard him reply in his normal deep voice. 

"Do not apologize, you need rest." he assured her. 

Sighing you slowed down some and moved to make yourself some coffee. Grabbing the pot you looked back to his own cup. "Would you like a refill?" you asked. 

Giving her a small nod he watched as she came over to refill his cup for him before moving to put it back and add creamer to her coffee. Looking her over he blinked slowly, "Your mother and father must be proud to have a daughter as well mannered as you." he said, meaning to pay her a compliment but when her brows lowered and her lip moved back between her teeth he knew he had said something wrong. 

Releasing your lip you took a deep breath and stared at your cup as you steered the brown liquid inside. "Actually I.. I was an orphan." you told him, keeping your eyes down. Tapping the spoon on the rim you gave a small grin, "But thank you all the same." you told him. "I treat people how I would like to be treated." you said softly. Taking a deep breath you turned towards him, leaning against the counter and holding the hot cup in your hands. "What are you reading?" you asked, glancing down to the book now resting on the table as he lifted the cup. 

So that was why there were no pictures, lifting his cup to his lips he took a sip before looking to her when she asked him about the book. "Dracula." he said with a sigh. "I haven't gotten too far yet."

"It's a good book, a classic. There are like a hundred movies based on it." you told him. Seeing him raise a brow you grinned. "If you like it and you want to, we can watch the best one, well in my opinion." 

Grinning he nodded, "Very well." 

After the both of you finished your coffee and a small breakfast you cooked you walked him out to your truck seeing him look at the thing with one brow raised. "I've told you all about it, it isn't going to bite you." you said with a small grin. Seeing him give you a small glare you rolled your eyes. He was already annoyed when you told him he couldn't wear his hook into the stores in town, explaining that no one wore things like that here. After a stare down he finally removed the heavy thing and pulled his sleeve down over his scared wrist. Opening the passenger for him you waved you hand towards the inside, "Age before beauty." you said with a teasing grin.

Huffing he moved inside the 'Truck'. "I'll have you know if you were anyone else you would be dead by now." he threatened but it only made her let out a small giggle. The sound making something flutter in his chest for a moment before he quickly looked away from her. 

Shutting the door for him you rounded the truck to get in the driver's side. Buckling your seat belt you looked to him and raised a brow. The ever stubborn man let out a deep sigh as he reached behind him to grab the belt and mimic your movements. As soon as it snapped into place you started the vehicle and started driving to town. 

He mostly just glanced out the window as the moved, there were lots of trees and he could see a few mountains in the distance. Seeing a large body of water he lifted his chin, "Is that the sea?" he asked. 

"No, that's the Missouri river, the ocean is probably about a good 2 days drive from here." you told him. 

Humming he looked at her, "Have you ever been to it, the sea?" he asked.

"Not since before I could remember." you told him, pulling down the road going into town. 

"If you can't remember then how do you know you were there at all?" he asked when her words made no sense.

"Well I was told that I was found in a basket that had washed up on shore when I was only a couple months old." you told him. 

Frowning he looked to her, "All by yourself?"

"Yep. The lady at the orphanage said that some fisherman found me when they heard me crying. Said there wan't any one else around or anything in the basket with me but a wool blanket and a locket." 

"Was anything in the locket? What did it look like?" he was honestly curious about the whole ordeal, it was like something out of a storybook. 

Reaching into your shirt you pulled the gold locket over your head and held it out for him. It was funny you had never let anyone touch your most prized possession before but you... trusted him. Probably stupid since he was a pirate and all. 

Taking the golden locket into his hand he looked it over, seeing a wave looking design carved into the top that had been almost rubbed almost smooth, age most likely. Seeing a small button on the side he pressed it with his thumb and saw it flip open. Looking on the inside he saw a badly faded and water stained black and white picture of a man and woman, a small babe int he woman's arms that he assumed was her. On the other side was what looked sort of like a log post. "These are called compasses here correct?" he asked. 

"Yes but that one is broken." you told him.

Reading the engraving around the edge he turned it in his hand, 'Your heart will be your guide.' Humming he closed it and handed it back to her as she stopped the truck and tuned it off. 

"Thank you." you told him putting it back around your neck and tucking it into your shirt. "Okay so this is the only place that is probably going to have your size." you said as you opened the door and got out of the vehicle, tossing your purse on your shoulder and tossing your keys inside. Walking to the front you saw Crocodile come to stand by you, his eyes looking around at the small shopping center. "Ready?" you asked and heard him hum. 

Sitting in one of the chairs by the fitting rooms you played a game of chess on your phone while Crocodile tried on the clothing he had picked out. Hearing the door open you glanced up at him and saw some of the clothes hanging over his left arm. "Find some you like?" you asked. 

"Yes, this should been enough." he said in a deep voice. He had picked out three pair of pants and three shirts, one being a shirt that he saw her looking at. It was a dark blue button up shirt with long sleeves and made of a cotton material, surprisingly it was very comfortable and he liked it was easy to button. He had also go a single pair of lounge pants that he could wear at nighttime. 

"Okay. Well bring them over to the counter." you said as you stood and walked with him towards the counter. 

Watching the woman at the front counter fold and place the items in a bag.

"Your total is $127.53." the woman said.

Feeling his brow twitch a little at the price he next saw as y/n took out a card of sorts and swiped it through this machine. When the woman behind the counter handed her a piece of paper and told them to have a good day he quickly grabbed the bag before y/n could. It was bad enough she was buying him clothes he wouldn't make her carry his bags as well. Seeing her grin softly up at him he bowed his head some and walked out of the store with her. 

Unlocking the truck you looked to him, "Are you hungry?" you asked him, seeing as it was lunch time. When he nodded his head a little you grinned at him and tilted your head. 

Shutting the door to the truck he followed her to another place a few ways down from the clothing store. When she opened the door and held it open for him he felt his brow twitch again. He had always been a traditional person and the way he saw it a man should be the one doing things like this for a woman, not the other way around. He knew she wasn't doing it because she thought he was handicap, well she better not be, no he had come to notice she was just a kind person. An extremely kind person. Had this been the other way around and she had showed up needing help he would have no doubt laughed in her face and kicked her to the street. For some odd reason though she had saw fit to help him and had yet to ask for anything in return. He had been waiting for it over the past few days but nothing came. Sitting at a booth in the far corner he saw as a young man came over and handed them menus. 

"Hey there y/n." 

"Hello Lance, how are you doing today?" you asked with a kind smile. 

"Doing good, hope you are too. See you brought company today. What can I get you to drink sir"?" he asked. 

She must come here often. "Water will be fine." he said and saw the boy nod. 

"Okay be right back." 

Furrowing his brows he looked to the woman in front of him. "He didn't ask what you wanted to drink."

Grinning you looked at him, "That's because I get the same thing every time I come." you told him simply. 

"And what would that be?" he asked as he lifted the menu to look it over. 

"Freshly squeezed lemonade." you smiled. 

Humming he saw the boy set both glasses down on the table and heard him say he would be back to take their order in a few minutes. "So any suggestions?" he said with a sigh. 

"Well I like all the food but the Ruben but that's because I don't care for rye bread." you said with a shrug. 

"What is a hot dog?" he asked.

"Do you want the honest answer or the more appealing one?" you asked and saw his brow raise. "Pretty much all the parts on a pig that people wouldn't normally eat ground together and made into a long stick like thing that is slapped on a bun with some mustard and ketchup."

Knitting his brows he closed his mouth and took a deep breath before dropping the menu and reaching for his drink. "I'll go with the fish." he said and heard her giggle again. Once his food was set before him he looked down at it and hummed, it smelled good at least. Looking up he saw her just sitting there sipping at her lemonade, "Where is your food?" he asked. 

Snapping your eyes up to him you shook your head, "I don't eat lunch." you told him. 

Frowning he glanced down at his food before looking back up to her, "Then why did you bring us here?"

"You said you were hungry." you shrugged. 

"If I would have known you weren't going to get anything I would have just waited until we got back to your home." he growled, not liking the fact that she was again doing something for him. 

"It's fine Crocodile, I am fine with my lemonade, you eat." you told him. 

Taking a deep breath he glared at her. She was back to looking down at her phone, completely missing the hard look he was giving her. Gritting his teeth he let out a deep sigh, why couldn't he stay angry at her? Lifting his fork he placed a piece of fish in his mouth, the food now tasting bland in his mouth knowing he was the only one eating. "What are you doing?" he asked. 

Looking back up at him you tilted your head some, "Playing chess, it's a strategy game." you said. 

"Go on..." he said, wanting something to talk about. 

After telling him about the game you saw him nod. 

"Is it a game you can only play on that thing?" he asked. 

"No, there is a physical version, I don't have a set at home though." you told him. Thinking you bot your lip, "I think there s one at the bar though, if I can find it I'll bring it home and we can play... if you want to that is." you said, looking down when you realized how desperate you probably sounded. 

"It sounds like a challenge, I like them." he nodded. Finishing his food he took a sip of his drink, "I would like to go to this bar you work at, it is growing bore some at your home." he said. 

Shocked you looked back to him and nodded, "If you want to go that's fine but I won't be able to take you back home, you'll have to stay there until I get off and that won't be until 12 tonight. Also it's kind of a rough place." you warned. 

"I have spent plenty of nights in shady bars before, I think I will manage." 

"Okay if you are sure." you said. Standing you tossed down a few bills on the table, leaving Lance a tip as well. 

Standing he slid out of the booth and walked with her to the door but this time he stepped forward to open the door for her. That fluttering in his chest returning when she smiled at him and gave him a small thank you. 


	3. Chapter 3

Sitting at the end of the bar he looked around the place as he sipped at his drink. They had been here for a few hours now and he could already see what y/n had meant by it being a rough place. Music played in the background and people were talking and laughing loudly throughout the whole establishment. Thankfully y/n had poured him a glass of whiskey to keep him company as she worked. As he would let his eyes roam over the floor he couldn't help from watching the woman. She was fast on her feet, her movements calculated as she carried the tray on one hand while the other lifted old glasses and bottles to replace them with new ones. So far none of the customers seemed to give her much trouble, a few men looked at her longer than they should but she was a sight so he couldn't really say he blamed them. As she made her way back over towards him to refill his glass he saw her reach under the counter and pull out a box looking thing. 

Sitting the chess board on the bar top you smiled and started pacing the pieces where they went, explaining how each piece could move. "Any more questions?" you asked.

"I think I have it, ladies first." he said, and watched as she moved one of the pawns. Moving one of his own he saw her next move the bishop. After a few moves in they had to stop while she waited on a new costumer but he just took the time to look over the board and plan out his next move. Moving the knight he took one of her pieces and grinned. Watching her move one of her pawns again he heard a voice beside him. 

"You are going easy on him starlight." A deep, raspy voice said from beside him.

Looking down the bar he saw an old man with long grey hair smiling kindly at y/n. Furrowing his brows at the name the man had called her he felt his heart rate pick up some but shook it off. 

"It's his first time playing Mick." you said with a small shrug.

Raising his brow he looked at her, "You are going easy on me?" he asked. 

"She could have beat you three moves ago." Mick chuckled. 

"Hush." you told Mick before turning back to Crocodile, "It's your turn." 

Flickering his eyes between her and the board he moved a piece and saw her biting her lip. "Don't go easy on me." he told her in a deep voice. 

Taking a deep breath you moved your queen across the board, "Checkmate." you said. 

Looking around he saw she had him and sighed, "Again?" he asked and saw her grin softly and hum. 

........................

Now it was close to midnight and he and y/n were on their seventh game, he had yet to beat her but this round was looking close as he was starting to get the hang of it. Moving his left castle he smiled "Your turn." 

Smiling as the game became a challenge you moved to grab your piece when someone rushed over to the bar. Looking up to see who it was you sighed. "Hi Rob." 

"Hey there baby." he smiled. "Lookin' mighty good in them jeans."

Rolling your eyes you moved your piece and noticed Crocodile's annoyed look. "What do you want tonight?" you asked Rob with a sigh. 

"You know what I want." he grinned.

Slamming his usual beer on the bar you looked at him. "No." 

"Oh come on star, how many times are you gonna leave a man hangin'?" he groaned. 

"Depends on how many times you ask." you told him with a shrug as you went to make your move. 

Narrowing his eyes at the skinny man beside him he tapped his foot on the floor. He couldn't bother to focus on the game as this 'Rob' went about trying to talk y/n into sleeping with him, the men sitting down the bar some finding amusement in his rejection. 

"Give me one good reason why?" Rob said with a grin. 

"Because I have had enough disappointments in my life." you said with a roll of your eyes as you turned to put the dirty mugs in the dishwasher, hearing Rob let out a offended gasp behind you. 

Chuckling along with the rest of the men laughing he saw the man grin and place his hand over his heart. 

"That one hurt baby." Rob said. "It's okay, I'll just go peak into your bathroom window when you're in the shower tonight." he smiled. 

"I catch you peeking in my window and I will shoot you, you perv." you told him, knowing he was only joking. 

Laughing he stood and finished up his beer before pulling out a few bucks. "Alright, alright, I'll try again tomorrow." he said, "See you later Star." 

"Night Rob." you sighed, shaking your head. Turning back to Crocodile you saw him sitting there with his normal blank face but there was something in his eyes as he looked into yours. Not having time to question you heard as most of the others started calling it quiets for the night. On the ride back home you finally heard his question. 

"Those men were calling you star, why?" he asked. 

Glancing his way and then back to the road you rubbed your other arm while keeping one on the wheel. "It's just a nickname that got thrown on me when I first got here... I like the stars, I find astrology interesting and whenever I was on break I used to go out and just look at the stars. The old owner of the bar, Vick, he used to tease me about it, not in a mean way or anything, he said that when I came back in he could see the stars still shining in my eyes, he called me starlight." you said with a small smile. 

Hearing the smile in her voice he looked over and saw a hint of sadness in her eyes. "You said the old owner..."

"Yea, Vick died last year. His daughter owns it now." you said with a sigh.

"You do not sound like you like her as much as her father." 

"I don't. Vick was a nice man, he gave me a chance when no one else would, he... well if it wasn't for him I don't know if I'd even still be alive but his daughter, Melissa, she's something else." you ended with a huff. "She has never worked a day in that bar to my knowledge, she's been trying to find a reason to fire me since she inherited it." you told him. 

"Why?"

"She never liked me to begin with. When her dad got sick and started needing help doing everyday things she refused to help him she said she had more important things to do and I kind of lost my temper with her."

Grinning he looked towards her, it was hard to imaging her angry. "What did you do?"

Groaning you felt a blush tint your cheeks, thankfully it was dark. "I may or may not have broke her nose and ...knocked out her front...teeth." you admitted and heard him start laughing. "What? She deserved it, her dad was the nicest person in the world and she treated him like shit. Vick was the closest thing to family I ever had and I wasn't about to just sit there and watch her do that to him." 

Chuckling he smiled, "What happened after that?"

"Well she had me arrested and I had to pay for her doctor and dentist bill." 

"You got arrested?" he asked, raising his brows in shock. 

"Yes, I had to spend 48 hours in jail." 

He bet she looked cute in stripes.... What?! NO! Where the hell did that come from?! He didn't say much else on the rest of the ride back to her home and once they got there he heard her tell him goodnight like always and heard to her room to most likely shower and then go to bed. Grabbing his new lounge pants he headed to the bathroom to shower himself. Once he was out he pulled on his pants and glanced down to the dark black tattoo on his the left side of his lower pelvis, normally covered by the waistband of his pants. His soulmate tattoo, it was a strange shape, a eight pointed, elongated star. Recalling the conversation from earlier he felt his brows lower and his eyes soften for a moment before he quickly shook his head. No. It was mere coincidence. Nothing more. Pulling his pants over the mark he quickly moved to his bed and let out a deep sigh. 

.................................

Heading towards the kitchen one morning he made his coffee and grabbed the small breakfast that she had left in the microwave for him. Carrying both to the table one at a time he stopped suddenly as he was sitting down when he noticed her truck still here. She wasn't working today? Glancing down the hall to her bedroom he saw the door open and furrowed his brows. She normally closed it when she was sleeping or showering, leaving it open when she wasn't in there. She wasn't in the living room or study so where was she? Quickly finishing his food and coffee he carried them both to the sink before he walked to the front door and looked outside. He didn't see her but where else would she be? Putting on his shoes he walked outside and started looking around the yard. When he found her he was surprised to see her pulling on a small boat that he had never noticed tucked away under a tarp in the shed. She hadn't seemed to notice him and he rose a brow at the sight of her tugging on the boat. "What are you doing?"

Letting out a small yelp you turned to see Crocodile standing there looking at you with a slightly amused expression. "Good morning. For once I have a day off and the weather is nice so I was going to go Canoeing, I haven't been in a while." you told him. Getting an idea you gave him a small grin. "Would you like to go?" you asked. 

"No." he said in his normal emotionless, deep voice. Forcing his eyes to not fall to her short clad legs.

Blinking you quickly hid your disappointment and forced a small grin. "Okay." You said but saw him turn and begin walking back towards the house making your shoulders fall. Biting the inside of your lip you grabbed the canoe and started tugging it towards your truck again all the while being overwhelmed by your thoughts. Crocodile had been here for ten days now and while the two you seemed to live together without any problems you couldn't help the feeling that he had been avoiding you lately. Ever since the other night he had become more reserved. He hadn't asked to come to the bar with you anymore and everything when you got home from work he would already be in bed. Perhaps you had annoyed him or offended him somehow. You hadn't said anything thing to him, not wanting to make things awkward. If he didn't like you, he didn't like you, wasn't like you weren't used to being ignored. Still for some reason you found it hurting more this time around. Pushing the canoe into the back of your truck you started tying it down, keeping our head down and hands busy. 

Going back in her house he looked over the books for something else to read, having already finished the one he was on last night. Tapping his thumb on his forearm he tried to focus on the titles he was reading but his mind was clearly elsewhere, like it had been for the past few days, ever since that night. Becoming more annoyed the longer he stood there he growled in his throat and let his head fall back to his shoulders, "Fuck it." Walking to the front door again he shoved his feet in his boots and glanced out the door to see her putting a wooden oar in the boat that was now in the back of her truck. Watching her move towards the driver's side door with her small shoulders hung low he closed his eyes. He was going soft.

Opening your door you placed your foot on the railing and went to climb inside when the sound of a door closing behind you made you turn to look. Seeing his large body come down the steps towards you you furrowed your brows some and tilted your head. Opening your mouth you didn't get a chance to speak before he was talking. 

"If you fall in the water and drown I'll be out of a place to stay." he grumbled, making his way tot he passenger side and quickly getting in, slamming the door shut and snapping the belt over his chest. 

Blinking a few times you grinned and got inside, starting the truck. "Shouldn't I be more worried about you drowning?"

Looking at her he narrowed his eyes a bit. "I know how to swim... I just can't." 

Giggling you nodded, "I know. Don't worry I won't let you drown." you told him. Making a pit stop at a small store you got drinks and small snacks for the both of you while you were out canoeing. Waiting as the man rung them up you caught sight of something behind the counter and smiled. "I'll take two of them as well." you said and saw the man raise a brow but not say anything as he bagged your items and handed them to you. "Thank you." Putting the drinks and snacks in the cooler you opened the door and got inside the truck. "Here, got you something." you said, holding out the two large cigars. 

Looking down at the two cigars in her hand he felt his eyes widen a bit and looked back up to her, seeing her normal grin on her face. Reaching out and taking them he smiled. "Thank you." he said in a deep voice and saw her smile softly at him.

.....................................

Paddling slowly down the river you lifted the oar and placed it back beside you, contempt to let the river carry you for now. Looking around you sighed softly at the calming affect the water had on you before looking back down at the sketch pad in your lap and lifting the charcoal pencil again. Glancing up at the massive man currently lounged back at stern of your boat you grinned. He had his head layed back against his arm that was thrown behind him, his eyes were closed and his face relaxed making him look younger and carefree. Those black locks of his had been blown out of his normal style and now they framed his face, accenting his strong jawline that had a little stubble on it. His eyes were closed and smoke clouded around him as he puffed away on the cigar in his mouth. His legs nearly reached you but you didn't care, glad to finally have company. The large gold hook rested on his thigh and unbeknownst to him a butterfly had landed on it. Adding the last details in you grinned at your portrait and closed the book before tucking it back safely into your book bag. Hearing a banging you looked up towards the cliffs and saw the two rams going at it.

Cracking one eye open when he heard the banging he looked around for the source. "What was that?" he asked.

Glancing back at him for a moment you saw him looking around, "Rams, up there." you said, pointing to where the two large males were. 

Watching the two rams headbutt each other he hummed. Looking back towards the woman he saw her eyes focused on the landscape around them. Her face was soft, calm looking, this was probably the most contempt he had seen her. Her fingers were fittling with the locket around her neck, her legs were crossed and her lips were pursed a little bit. Watching her hair blow around her in the soft breeze he licked his lips, wondering what it would feel like to run his fingers through her hair. Gritting his teeth he breathed out heavily through his nose. He needed a distraction. "Who is your favorite character from my world... this One Piece?" he asked. 

Looking back towards him you grinned, "That's hard to say, I don't think I could pick a favorite, everyone kind of adds their own thing to the story you know." 

"Alright then let's break it down, who are your favorite... let's say Marines?" he asked. 

"Top three.... I like Smoker, Aokiji and Garp." 

Humming at her answered he thought, "What about the straw hats?"

"Impossible to pick a top three, I can say Ussop is probably my least favorite." 

"Who is your least favorite character in all?" 

"That one is easy, Definitely Blackbeard." you said with a firm nod. 

At least it wasn't him. "Not me, I'm flattered darling." he said with a smirk.

Giggling you smiled, "No, I like your character too Crocoboy." 

Well his eyes go wide at the name, his cheeks and neck heated up making him grumble and puff harder on his cigar. 


	4. Chapter 4

Making your way up the steps of your home you let out a little whimper as you opened the door and stepped inside. Not hearing anything or seeing any lights on you assumed Crocodile was sleeping already. Good you really didn't want him to see you like this. Walking down the hallway with your head lowered you rubbed your face but stopped and knit your brows when you noticed your bathroom light on. Rounding the corner you quickly flushed red and turned on heel. "Why are you taking a bath in my bathroom?" you asked, hearing the sound of the water moving a small amount.

"You are the one that said a bath might help with migraine." he said in a normal deep voice, staying where he was. Seeing her keep her back to him he smirked at how flustered she was, had she never seen a naked man before? 

"Yes well I didn't mean in my bathtub." you said. 

"You expect me to fit in that small one in there? Besides I didn't think you would be home so early." he said. Tilting his head a bit as he finally took notice of her stiff stance and wrinkled clothing. 

Sighing you turned back but kept your eyes up as you reached to grab your bathing supplies and razor. Going to walk to the guest bathroom to shower you froze when his hand grabbed your wrist in a tight but not painful grip. 

Furrowing his brows at the dark mark along her cheek he saw as her face turned away from him more. "You are hurt." His voice came out lower and more caring than he had ever heard it. 

"I'm fine." you assured him, pulling your hand out of his grasp and walking out of the room. Going to the guest bathroom you shut and locked the door, sitting your stuff down on the edge of the tub. Looking under your lashes at your reflection in the mirror you saw the darkening bruise along your left cheek and temple, bringing your fingers up you gently poked the area and winced. Letting out a heavy sigh you looked down and started removing your clothes to take a quick shower. By the time you were done you no longer saw the light on in your bathroom and wrapped a towel around yourself before moving to your bedroom to put on your pajamas. As soon as you could you crawled into your bed and burrowed yourself under the covers. While you were hungry, having not eaten lunch or dinner you didn't feel like cooking. Hopefully Crocodile could manage his own supper tonight. Thinking back to the sight of his bare chest you bit your lip, he was a muscled man and you had taken notice of the small dusting of hair on his chest. You wondered how it felt, if it was soft or coarse or somewhere in the middle. Swallowing hard you closed your eyes and shook your head, nuzzling into your pillow, there was no reason to think like that. 

.................................

He had been waiting in the living room for her but she never came back out after her shower. Glancing to the time he saw it was only nine, he hadn't eaten yet and he doubted she had either. From what he had took notice of she didn't really eat that much, she seemed to forget most days. Standing he moved to the refrigerator and looked for something he could cook. Seeing beef, he rose a brow, he could work with that. Slicing the beef into thin strips he cooked them with onions and some other things before spooning it over the rice. Leaving it to cool on the counter he made them both a cup of tea and then walked down the hallway to her room. Knocking lightly on the door he didn't hear anything at first but then a small noise met his ears and he opened the door. Looking towards the bed he saw a small lump under the covers and furrowed his brows. "Come eat." he said but she didn't move. Crossing his arms over his chest he walked over to the side of the bed she was on and looked down at her. "I know you are not sleeping." 

"Yes I am." 

Rolling his eyes he let out a deep sigh, "I don't cook very often and I damn sure have never cooked for a woman before so you better get your ass in there and eat. We can watch that Dracula movie." he told her, his voice deep and firm, leaving no room for discussion. She laid there for a few seconds longer than needed before she finally stood and walked to the kitchen with him right behind her. 

Looking down at the bowl and tea you grinned softly. "Thank you." you told him and heard him grunt in acknowledgement. Eating your meals in a peaceful silence you kept your eyes down, until he finally spoke. 

"What happened to you?" he asked, his eyes looking over the bruise on her face with hard eyes. 

"Just a little misunderstanding." you said without looking up. 

Dropping his eyes to her darkened knuckles he knew it had been more than a little misunderstanding but if she didn't want to talk about it he wouldn't push the subject. Still though, it angered him to know someone had hit her, that someone had hurt her. Swallowing the food in his mouth he lifted his chin, "How old are you?" 

A little shocked by his sudden personal question you glanced up at him. "Twenty-eight." 

He would have guessed twenty three. He was sixteen years her senior. "When is your birthday?" Humming when she told him he narrowed his eyes, "Since you did not inquired about my own age or birthday I am guessing you already know." he said and saw her give him a small grin. Flickering his eyebrows he lifted the lat bite of rice to his mouth, "Well go on, I'll give you two free questions." He said, thinking he already knew what she would ask. 

Humming you steered your bowl, lifting a piece of meat and rice to your mouth, "Where were you born?"

A little shocked he took a deep breath, "In the East blue, Conomi Islands." he told her and saw her eyes go wide.

"What?"

"You and Nami are from the same place." you said. 

Grunting he grabbed his cup of tea, "Next question." This had to be it.

"What's your favorite color?" 

Okay now he was shocked. Those were not the questions he was expecting. Seeing her still waiting for an answer he let out breath, "I like blue, like the sea...." ...like your eyes, he thought but didn't say. Seeing her give him her usual soft grin he felt that fluttering in his chest and took a deep breath, "Movie." he said and saw her nod before she got up and took both of their empty bowls to the sink. 

.............................

It was day thirteen and he had decided to go back to the bar with her for the day, wanting to get out of her house and also keep an eye on her, even though he would never tell her as much. At the beginning of the night things went rather slow and they both played games of chess to help the time go by. They had even made another game out of it, with every piece the other took they were allowed to ask one question. He had a desire to know more about her, things he had never bother learning about people he encountered before. Taking her piece he set it to the side, "Tell me something about my world that I may not know." he said. 

Humming you looked over the pieces left on the board. "Luffy is Garp's grandson." 

"I already know that, obvious really, they are both stubborn and act like fools." he said. 

"Okay. Luffy is Dragon's son." you tried, moving your piece to take his knight.

Now that he didn't know. "The revolutionary leader?" he asked and heard her hum. 

"What's your favorite thing to eat?"

"Crocodile meat with tomatoes." he said and heard her laugh. 

Hearing the door open you looked up to greet the person when a familiar face met yours.

Noticing her face fall he knit his brows and looked behind him to see a small group of people coming in, one man was in the front with a small smirk on his face and one arm thrown over a woman's shoulder who was sporting a busted lip and black eye. Turning back to see Nina, y/n's co-worker walking by. 

"I'll get them y/n." she said.

Looking over y/n's annoyed face he rose a brow, "That the one you had your 'misunderstanding' with?" he asked. Hearing her grunt and grab the whiskey bottle from under the counter he was expecting her to refill his own glass but to his surprise she made herself a small tumbler and downed it in one go. "How did that whore do that to you?" he asked, nodding to the fading bruise she had tried to cover with makeup. 

Sighing you looked at him, "She hit me with a beer bottle when I was coming back in from taking out trash." you grumbled. "I don't even know what I did." you shrugged. 

Gritting his teeth he glanced at the woman out of the corner of his eye. She wore a short skirt and shirt that showed her stomach and far too much cleavage to be even remotely considered classy. In all honesty she reminded him of a woman one would see at the brothels back in his world. His y/n ... No, not his...Y/N didn't dress like that, other than the one time they had went canoeing he had never seen her wear anything that showed a lot of skin. Most of the time she wore a pair of pants and a long sleeved blouse. Well the other night she had worn a pair of shorts and a T- shirt but even then it had a high collar. Taking a deep breath he saw her move to help Nina with the order for their table. 

Turning back around once you had helped Nina get the drinks onto the tray you saw Rob walking over with a big goofy smile on his face. "No Rob, before you even ask the answer is still no."

"Oh come on good lookin' I ain't even said anything yet." he said, taking a seat at the bar. "What's wrong? Why you look so grrr." he said, scratching at the air. 

Watching y/n walk to the end of the bar to refill the other customers drinks he rose a brow. "Maybe she doesn't wish to be annoyed by little pests like you." Crocodile said as he sipped at his drink. 

Looking to the man he waved his hand. "Naw man, y/n loves me. She just don't know it yet."

"Of course she does." he grumbled. 

"Hey star look, you know how they say you are what you eat?" he said and saw her set the beer in front of him. "Well baby I could be you by morning." he grinned, giving her a wink. 

Scoffing you rolled your eyes and walked away. 

Shaking his head he let out a growl. This man couldn't take no for an answer. For the next hour he listened as the man repeatedly tried to win y/n over with horrible pick up lines. Although, he could see her grinning slightly at some of them and wondered if the man was only doing this to annoy her into forgetting her problems. 

"Okay Starlight what about this one... Are you a pirate?"

Catching his attention he looked at the man with slightly narrowed eyes as he sipped his drink.

"...Because I got a lot of semen waiting for you." he finished.

Almost choking on his drink he heard everyone else laughing and saw y/n looking up at the ceiling. 

"What is wrong with you?" you asked. 

"You baby, but I tell you what, let's go to the parking lot for a few minutes and then when we get back I'll be all better." he grinned, finishing his beer.

Shaking your head you took the bottle and tossed it into the trash, "Goodnight Rob." 

Sighing he stood and paid for his beers, "Alright fine, you just keep playing hard to get." he said playfully before walking towards the door. 

Making sure the an was gone he looked towards y/n and stood. "I am going out." he told her, taking the cigar she had bought him out of his pocket and seeing her nod. 

Watching him leave you made your round at the bar when Nina walked over. 

"Hey y/n I'm going to go out for my break okay, do you want anything from Jim's?" Nina asked. 

Shaking your head you saw her nod and then leave through the back. Washing the few glasses out and sticking them in the dishwasher you grabbed the cleaning cloth and spray, going to start washing down tables when a banging filled the bar. 

"Can we get some service?!" 

Cutting your eyes over to the pool tables you saw the group from earlier standing around snickering and smiling as the trashy woman called for you. Gritting your teeth you walked over to the tables, plastering a small grin on your face. "What can I get you?"

"I would like a cockta..."

"How about you doll?" the man asked, cutting off the woman and making her lips give a small pout. 

Turning your head up to the man you dropped your fake grin, "Try again." you told him.

Wrapping his arm around her waist he pulled her flush to him and smirked, "Come on girl, let me show you a good time." 

Shoving on his chest you growled, "I'm not interested. Now are you going to order or are you just going to sit around and waste my time."

Raising his lip in a snarl he grabbed her wrist "Don't get lippy girl." 

Feeling your temper flare you snatched your hand from him and went to walk away, "Go fuck yourself." you hissed but stopped short when something hit your back making you fall forward and let out a cry of pain. 

"Pathetic bitch." he said, tossing down the pool cue.

Panting you opened your eyes and looked down to see the cue beside you on the floor. Grabbing it you pushed yourself to stand and swung the cue through the air.

..............................

He had been sitting on the bench outside, smoking his cigar when he heard a feminine cry from inside the bar followed by the sound of something wooden hitting the ground. Feeling an odd sensation in his chest he stood and tapped out the cigar before quickly heading in. Opening the door he swept his eyes across the floor, when his eyes locked on his target he saw her swinging one of the pool cues, smacking the man in the legs and knocking his feet out from under him. Next thing he knew the others were rushing forward and y/n started trying to fight them all off. Hurrying over he saw one of the men swinging a knife towards her and quickly grabbed his hand, twisting it quickly and hearing it break. Throwing him down he witnessed as y/n punched the woman in the face, knocking her unconscious with one hit. Giving the other man a hard look he saw him back up and move to grab his friend. Before too long the whole bar was cleared out and he looked back to y/n to see her dropping the pool cue back on top of the table. Watching as she walked over to one of the chairs and sat down he took notice of her pained expression and frowned. "Are you alright?" he asked. 

Leaning over you placed your face in your hands and nodded, "I'm sorry." 

"Whatever for?" he asked. Moving towards her he noticed the stiffness of her back and curled his pointer finger under the hem of her shirt. Lifting it up some he felt her tense and saw her try to quickly sit up but he placed his other arm on her shoulder to still her. Tilting her head to look over the large purple welt across her lower back he grit his teeth, a growl rumbling in his throat. 

Blushing you pulled down your shirt and gently grabbed hold of his left forearm. "Thank you for helping me." 

Feeling a warming in his chest at her gentle touch he quickly cleared his throat and straightened his back. Pulling away his arm and hand he sighed, "Yes well I couldn't let them beat you too badly, how would we get back to your home tonight." he said and saw her give a tired grin before she was pushing herself to stand. 

Cleaning up the bar and explaining to Nina what had happened when she got back you were not surprised by the sheriff that showed up as you went to close. Gritting your teeth as he questioned everything that had happened and then your part of the story you backed up as he reached for you, saying he needed to see what had 'supposedly' started the fight. Thankfully Nina had quickly offered to show the man the video and he finally dropped his hand but stared at you longer than needed. 

He had sat in his normal seat as the two women spoke to the man who y/n had explained to him was kind of like a marine. The man who had to be in his late fifties looked at y/n with an unsettling look and from here he could hear how he seemed to question everything she said, asking if she was sure that was what really happened. When he reached out to grab her he noticed the woman take a step back and stiffen up. The male made her uncomfortable, that much was clear and as Nina spoke up he grit his teeth at how long the man remained staring over y/n. 

Once the sheriff had watched the video he had only grunted and told you that he would take care of it. Deciding not to push the matter only because you wanted to get as far away from him as possible you nodded and moved to lock up. Thankful Crocodile was here as the sheriff seemed to linger close to you. 

"I suspect you'll be going up the mountain tomorrow evening for that meteor shower?" he asked in a raspy voice. 

Humming you locked the door to the bar and quickly moved away from him and unconsciously more beside Crocodile. 

"Well you be careful, never know what might happen when you're up there all by yourself, when no one else is around." he said, his voice growing deeper. 

"She won't be alone." Crocodile growled, taking a step forward and staring down the man.

Smiling he looked up at the man, "I'm sorry I don't believe we have met. I'm Sheriff Jones and you are?"

Raising a brow at the man's outstretched hand he rose his chin, "Crocodile." 

"Like the dangerous reptile?" he huffed, dropping his hand.

Smiling he stared into the man's eyes, "Precisely." Seeing the man's smile drop he stood back straight and glanced down at y/n, his eyes softening, "Are you ready my dear?" he asked and saw her nod.

"I'd be careful if I were you boy, that one there is trouble, ain't you girl?" he huffed with a smirk.

Seeing y/n's eyes drop he felt his rage taking over but knew if anything was done he would just cause her more trouble. So instead he smiled, "I tend to enjoy trouble and mayhem." the look on the man's face making him want to laugh. Walking her to her side of the truck he made sure she got in okay before walking around to his own, casting one last look at the sheriff before getting in. 

Driving away you finally let out a deep breath and licked your dry lips, "Thank you... for tonight and with him." you said in a soft voice just loud enough for him to hear.

Furrowing his brows he looked to her, "What did he mean by you were trouble?" he asked, ignoring her thanks.

Taking a deep breath you kept your eyes on the road. "I've had run ins with the law before, nothing too serious, stealing food and other little stuff like that, when I was younger. He has been the sheriff for years and we've never gotten along." you told him. 

He had a feeling she didn't want to talk about this anymore right now so he let it go, he would try again another time. "So what is so special about this meteor shower?" he asked and saw her smile. 

"The Lyrid meteor shower. The best view is from the top of the mountain, you can see up to 18 meteors an hour." you told him.

Not being able to stop his grin at how much her eyes seemed to light up at the mention of the event he hummed. "And how exactly do we get up the mountain?" he asked. 

"Hike." you said and heard him grumble. "I'll buy you another cigar..." 

"Deal." he said and heard her giggle. 

..........................

"How did I let you talk me into this?" he asked in a deep voice as he walked with her up the mountain trail. 

"We are almost there." you smiled. 

"I should have asked for two cigars." he grumbled. 

"Hiking is good for your heart." you told him and only heard him huff. 

"So are pinto beans but that doesn't mean I am going to start eating them." he told her.

Grinning you scaled the last bit of trail and stood at the top of the mountain, looking out over the land below with a contempt smile. 

Looking over the landscape he had to admit it was rather peaceful. Following y/n to the flat area he saw her sit down and let out a sigh before he lowered himself down to sit on her left. 

Taking your book bag off you unzipped the pocket and held out his cigar, watching him smile as he took it, lighting the end and exhaling a cloud of smoke. Sitting a thermos of coffee beside him you saw him raise a brow but lift it up none the less. 

"Coffee?" 

"Figured it might help keep us warm." you shrugged. 

Yes it was fairly chilly up here but his thick fur coat kept him warm. Looking down at y/n he took notice of her wearing a simple pair of jeans, boots and her own jacket that wasn't all that thick. He wondered if she was cold. Seeing her drawing something in her sketch book he looked over her hands and noticed they were a bit pale. Biting his cigar he considered giving her his own coat but before he could say anything she gasped lightly and looked up as the first meteor shot across the sky. 

.................................

Watching the meteor shower with her, they both sat in a comfortable silence. She had drawn the event in her sketch pad perfectly and he had been amazed by her talent, having not seen her work before now. More often than not his eyes drifted down to her out of the corner of his eyes, finding her wondrous look more entertaining than the sky. He could see the reflections of light in her eyes and grinned, "Starlight." stiffening when he realized he had said it out loud.

Hearing him say 'Starlight' you broke your eyes from the sky and looked up instead into his two silver eyes, feeling a strong warmth radiate through your chest. Blinking you felt his finger brush yours, your heart beating like a hammer in your chest. When something red caught your eye you looked beside him to see smoke, red smoke. Furrowing your brows you sat up straight, "What is that?" you asked. 

Looking around them as the smoke encircled them both he snapped his head this way and that. What the hell?

"Crocodile?" you called as a harsh wind started blowing around you both, blocking off any sound. Going to stand you felt a shock of sorts on your hand as you tried to push through the smoke and let out a small yelp.

"Y/n!?" he yelled, wrapping his arm around her to pull her away from the smoke. Before another word could be said the ground was gone from under them and they were falling. 

Screaming you felt as he held you tightly, the wind blowing your hair wildly. 

There was a flash of light and then he landed hard on his back, letting out a small 'ooff' as y/n landed on top of his chest. 

Realizing the both of you were no longer falling you opened your eyes and looked at the wooden walls and floor. Feeling warmth beneath you you turned your head and blushed when you saw you were in fact laying on top of Crocodile. "I'm so sorry." you apologized, scrambling off of him. 

Pushing himself up he looked around the familiar place and then at the woman who was snapping her head around in all directions. Her bag and it's contents were scattered around them, the table and two chairs from before were there but the candle was no longer lit and the witch didn't appear to be here either.

"What just happened? Where are we? Crocodile..." you asked, your heart and breathing erratic. 

Holding up his hand he watched it turn to sand and smiled. He was back. 

Your eyes went wide when you saw his hand and wrist turn to sand. Suddenly it all sunk in and you couldn't breath. Crawling over to your bag you started shoving things inside. "Oh no. No, no, no, no!" you yelled. Zipping it up you stood. "This can't be happening." you mumbled. Looking around the small, dusty room you started jumping, "Hello? Smoke stuff you can take me back now. I don't belong here." you said to the air, looking down at your feet and hoping to see the red smoke start up again. 

Standing he looked around the room before looking back to y/n when he heard her panicked voice. Walking over to her he grabbed her shoulder to stop her from jumpping. When two scared blue eyes looked up to him he furrowed his brows. 

"Why isn't it working? Why did I get brought back with you?" you asked him in a soft, scared voice.

"I don't know." he told her. 

Shaking your head you swallowed hard, "I can't be here." you whispered.

"It will be alright..."

"How can you say that? I'm stuck here with nothing, I don't even know where we..."

"If you recall, I was the same way when I came to your world." he said quickly, his voice deep. Still seeing worry in her eyes he sighed and rubbed her shoulder with his thumb, "Now it seems it is my turn to repay the same kindness you offered me." 

Shaking your head you kept looking in his eyes as it made you feel a little better. "I didn't ask for this, I didn't expect anyth..."

"I know." Softening his eyes he looked to her, "Will you trust me?" he asked. When she nodded he let out a sigh, his chest being filled with pride. "I will not let anything happen to you, you have my word." he said in a deep voice. Standing back straight he looked around the shack, finding the door. Leading her to it he twisted the knob and then peeked out to see the street mostly empty, the sky just as dark as the night he left. "Come on, you stay by me alright." he said and saw her nod again as they walked away from the hut. Peeking back he saw no sign in the front yard like there had been and furrowed his brows but said nothing. Placing his hand on her lower back he led her towards the inn he had been going to that night, hoping Bonez was still there. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do we think? Comments are always welcome.


	5. Chapter 5

Getting to the inn he was surprised to find Bonez sitting outside in the small sitting area. Walking up to him he saw him raise his eyes from the pistol he was busy cleaning and look to him. "You are still here?" he asked.

"Wasn't ready to call it a night just yet, your room is the one on the end." he said in a deep voice before his eyes dropped to the woman standing close to Crocodile's side. Taking note of her strange clothing and bag he blinked. "Already found a new crew member sir?" 

Taking a deep breath he looked down to y/n "Yes and no, this is y/n l/n. Y/n this is Daz Bonez." he told her even though he was sure she already knew.

"Hello." you said in a kind but soft voice looking to the man. 

Nodding his head to the woman he turned his attention back to Crocodile. 

"I will return to speak with you in a moment." he told the man and saw him nod. Taking a step towards the room he gently placed a hand on y/n's back, urging her to follow him. Opening the door to the room he did a quick glance over to make sure there was no danger inside before allowing her to enter the room. Closing the door softly behind him he saw her standing there looking over everything with her curious eyes. It was by no means a grand room, a decent sized bed with a small sitting area and table along with a bathroom. Lighting the lamp he saw her still standing int he same place. Clearing his throat he saw her turn to look at him. "I have to go speak to Bonez about some business matters so you go ahead and get some rest. Tomorrow I will help get you situated, alright?" he asked and saw her nod. He could tell she was still anxious and slowly moved over to stand in front of her, "I know this is overwhelming but try and rest. I'll be right outside if you need me." he told her and saw her nod again, a tiny grin lifting the corners of her mouth. Going to rub her shoulder he stopped short and stepped back, giving her a stiff nod before leaving her to her own. 

Watching the door close behind him you took a deep breath and then looked back towards the rest of the room. Slowly walking over you removed your book bag and placed it on the floor beside the couch. Unzipping your jacket you laid it over the back and then removed your boots, sitting them neatly beside your bag. Going to the bathroom you relieved your bladder and then turned on the water to wash your hands and face, rubbing the cold water onto the back of your neck and closing your eyes as everything sunk in. You were in the One Piece world. You were in a manga story. A story that included pirates with super powers, most of wish were extremely dangerous. Were you going to die? No. No, Crocodile had said he would let anything happen to you and you believed him. You trusted him. Letting out a sigh you turned off the water and left the room. Looking at the single bed you bit your lip. This was his room, it was his bed. Walking to the small sofa you grabbed your jacket and rolled it up to form a makeshift pillow. Laying down you placed it under your head and curled up some so your feet would fit as well. Wrapping your arms around you you closed your eyes and tried to relax. Luckily for you your body and mind seemed to be exhausted from the hiking and then the other world travel and soon you were drifting to sleep. 

.............................

Sitting with Bonez outside he quickly figured out, without telling the man everything, that he had returned to the exact same day and time he had left. It was like he never left even though he knew he had been in y/n's world for two weeks.

'You have two weeks...' 

Hearing the old woman's voice echo in his head he turned his head to look around him but didn't see anything. 

"This woman, y/n, what did you mean by she is and is not apart of the crew?" Bonez asked. 

Letting out a puff of smoke he sighed, "She will be joining us yes but she will not be apart of the crew." When he noticed the man blank look towards him he narrowed his eyes, "What is it?" he asked. 

"Is she your soulmate?" he asked and saw Crocodile's body stiffen. 

"No." he answered quickly and firmly. 

Nodding he looked back down to the gun in his hand. "What about a ship?"

Looking out towards the sea he rose his chin. "I will take care of that. I want you to start looking around for some possible crew members tomorrow." he told him and saw the man nod again.

"Yes sir." 

Tapping out his cigar he stood and walked towards the room, opening the door and quietly shutting it behind him. Locking the bolt he removed his shoes and glanced towards the bed but didn't see her there and had a moment of worry come over him before he looked to the sofa and saw her there. Walking over towards her he furrowed his brows at the position she was in, her body looking even smaller, curled up into a ball with her arms wrapped around her. He hadn't meant for her to take the sofa, apparently he should have said as much. Noticing she was using her jacket as a pillow, leaving her with no extra warmth of any kind he removed his coat from his shoulders and gently covered her with it. Grinning when he saw her let out a small sigh he reached towards her and brushed back the hair that had fallen to her face, letting his fingers linger in her soft locks for a moment more than was needed. Breathing out he finally stood back straight and moved to the bed, removing his hook, belt and shirt to sleep. Laying down in the bed he stared up at the ceiling and thought back to Bonez's question. Brushing his fingertips over where he knew the soul tattoo was he glanced towards the woman sleeping on the sofa in thought. If only for a moment he allowed himself to hope before his common knowledge took back control and he shook his head, rolling over to face away from her. No, there was no way, soulmates weren't even a thing in her world. He couldn't allow himself false hope, he had given up finding his other half decades ago.

..............................

"Okay." you said, going to stand in front of Crocodile, biting the inside of your lip and looking down. 

Dropping the newspaper he was reading he looked to the woman and saw her uncomfortable looking, glancing to the clothes in her hands he saw what looked to be one shirt and one pair of pants... nothing else. Looking up to her face he rose a brow, taking the clothes from her he placed them on his knee and lifted the paper again, "Now go find you some clothes." he told her.

Knitting your brows you looked to him, noticing how when he was sitting he was only a little bit taller than you. "I did, that's what I..." 

"A single shirt and pants are not an acceptable wardrobe." he told her. 

"I can mana..."

Sighing he stood and folded his paper, leaving in the seat along with the two articles of clothing she had already picked out. Walking over to the women's clothing area he looked over some of the choices available, not the best but it was the only thing he would be able to get until they went to another island. Seeing as she had already picked out a pair of black pants and she was currently wearing her jeans he scanned over the rack for something different. A dark blue material caught his eye and he grinned as he pulled it out to look it over. Holding it out for her he saw her eyes go a bit wide, her bottom lip get bit between her teeth a little. Tilting his head he felt his grin drop, "You do not like it?" he asked. 

Quickly looking up to him you licked your lips, "No I do I just... well I can't pull off dresses very well." you admitted, your eyes dropping from his face in embarrassment. 

Knitting his brows he glanced down to the dress and then to her, he didn't think there was anything she couldn't pull off. Hanging it on his hook he turned back to the racks and grabbed a grey tunic style blouse that matched his own outfit and would look nice with her black pants. Lastly he looked to the area with the women's undergarments and then back to her, "Go pick out your undergarments while I find you some pajamas." He told her, leaving no room for discussion. 

Hearing how deep his voice was you sighed as he turned towards the lounge clothes. Looking to the underwear section you slowly walked over and scanned through the merchandise until you found one that caught your eye. Lifting the black lace you were amazed at how light the material was. The pattern was lovely and you allowed yourself the second to wonder if it was something he would find attractive, if you could pull it off. When your fingers hit the price tag you turned your head to look at it and then instantly placed it back down. No way. Plain black one it was. Grabbing two pairs of panties you turned back to the massive man and walked over to him, seeing him holding something new that looked like satin you tilted your head and tried to inspect it some but he quickly ushered you to the counter where it was tallied up and placed in a brown bag before you could actually look at it. The woman didn't have time to tell you the price before he held out a large bill making you bite your lip, you hoped it wasn't that much. 

Taking his change he glanced down at her and saw her shoulders curled up some, her lip bit between her teeth like she did when she was anxious or upset. 

"Thank you, have a great day." The woman behind the counter said. 

Looking back up to her you gave her a small grin and mumbled out a "You too." Going to grab the bag you were surprised when Crocodile took it into his one hand and then looked down at you with soft eyes. 

"Come on, back to the inn." he said and saw her nod. Leading the way he saw her eyes still looking around at this and that but he could tell she still looked upset. Did she not like the clothes? When they got back to the room he handed her the bag and got his answer. 

"Thank you." you told him, looking down you licked your lips. "Is there something I can do to pay you back? Do you need help with anything?" you asked, slowly looking up at him from under your lashes. 

Raising a brow he tilted his head some. "Why are you like this?" he asked and saw her brows lower along with her shoulders. "You did everything you could to help me, to take care of me while I was in your world but now that I try and do the same for you you think it is some tremendous act." Watching her look down he furrowed his brows. He was coming to realized that she did not think she was worthy of anything and he was determined to change that. Letting out a sigh he stood straight and curled his finger under her chin to lift her eyes to his, "You must stop being so blind to your own value." 

Hearing how deep and low his voice was made you want to close your eyes but his silver eyes were staring into what felt like your soul. A sudden knock at the door startled you and you felt his warm fingers drop from your chin. Not another word was said as he walked to the door and opened a small amount, his deep voice speaking low to whoever was on the other side before he turned back towards you and shut the door. 

Taking a few steps towards her he saw her look back towards him. "I must attend to some business. I will not be back until later in the evening but I would like you to stay in here until I return." Walking to the small table he found a small pad of paper and a pen, taking it to her he held it out. "I want you to write down anything else you think you may need or anything you want. When I get back we will have dinner." he told her and saw her nod. "Lock the door behind me and do not by any means let anyone in this room that is not myself or Bonez understand?" he asked, and again she nodded, a small grin gracing her lips. Sighing he restrained himself from reaching out and placing his hand on her head but he did give her a grin and nod before walking towards the door. Waiting to make sure she locked it like he had instructed her to do he looked over to see Bonez waiting for him.

After locking the door behind Crocodile you let out a long sigh and turned back to the room. Walking over to the brown bag you started taking out the new clothes and folding them before placing them neatly in your book bag that was now a suitcase. Looking over the blouse he had picked out you tilted your head and grinned. It was nice and airy feeling too. Next you looked over the pajamas he had picked out, a satin sleeping set that consisted of a emerald green button up shirt with short sleeves, shorts and pants that all matched. Smiling you folded them up and placed them in the bag. Not bothering with folding the panties you left one pair out and finally you came to the dress. Holding it up you bit your lip. It was a dark blue dress with long loose fitting sleeves and it looked like it would end at about your mid thigh. It was casual but also very nice looking with a flowy design and a modest V-neck. The dress it's self was very pretty you were just worried how it would look on you. Crocodile had said the two of you would have dinner when he got back so maybe you could wear this, he did pick it out so didn't that mean he thought it would look nice? Taking a deep breath you grabbed that and the black panties, heading towards the bathroom to shower. 

...............................

When he got back to the room the sun was already setting and the small town was quieting down. Tapping out his cigar he knocked on the door and heard her soft footsteps coming to open it. When the door opened he looked down at her and felt his breath hitch in his throat. She was wearing the dress he had bought her, she had been completely wrong, she most certainly could pull off this dress. The dark blue dress fit her beautifully, her red hair was hanging down her back in waves and her eyes shinning up at him. Doing a quick glance over he felt his neck heat up at the sight of her skin. Clearing his throat he snapped his eyes back to hers, "I see the dress fits." 

Grinning you looked down and blushed, brushing your hair back behind your ear, "Yes, you have good taste." you told him and then giggled lightly, "You know if you ever wanted to retire form pirating you could always be a fashion designer." you told him. 

Laughing he smiled and dipped his head to her. "I will take that as a compliment. Now, are you ready to go to dinner?" When she nodded he held out his arm and felt a warming in his chest when she took it. Taking her to a small cafe' he sat in front of her, at the table in the back of the place and ordered them both some wine, which seemed to surprise her. "Are you not a fan of wine?" he asked. 

"I have actually never had it." you told him, glancing down at the menu. 

"You worked in a bar and you have never had wine..."

"You saw that place. Did it look like a place that sold wine to you?" you giggled and saw him grin. 

"I suppose not." he hummed as he too looked over the menu. "How long did you work there?" 

"I started when I was sixteen."

Twelve years. "Was being a bartender what you wanted to do?"

"No but it paid my bills and kept me from starving to death." You told him just as the woman came over and took your order. Ordering a fish meal that wasn't expensive you placed took the wine glass into your hand and looked down at the red liquid curiously. 

"Well what did you want to do?" He asked her once the waitress had left them alone again. 

"Um well when I was little I wanted to be a mermaid." you told him with a small smile and then tilted your head. "But after realizing I couldn't grow a tail I dreamed of becoming a artist, one that traveled the world and drew everything I saw along the way." you told him in a soft voice, looking down at your drink. "Pretty stupid now that I actually said it out loud." you sighed, biting the inside of your lip, great now you sounded like a fool.

Knitting his brows he looked at her, "I do not think it is stupid." 

Hearing his soothing deep voice you looked up to him and saw his eyes serious. Feeling a fluttering in your chest you grinned and brought the glass to your lips, "What about you? Did you always want to be a pirate?" you asked, keeping your voice low so no one would hear you but him. 

Humming he took a deep breath. "Yes, like most young boys I wanted to be the next pirate king." he had never told anyone that but for some reason talking to her came easy. 

"What about now?" 

"Now I only want to stay out of prison." he told her and saw her smile. Once their food arrived they ate in a comfortable silence. He had been a little offended when her meal had come and he saw she had only ordered a pan seared fish filet and a side of vegetables, the dish costing not even half of what he had ordered. To his understanding though she was trying to be as cost effecting as possible. Didn't keep him from asking her if that was really what she wanted though. 

"Yes this is fine, it's actually really good." 

Sighing he made a mental note to force her to try the more expensive things in life. The whole mindset was strange to him, the women he had let accompany him before normally tried to drain his wallet dry but she was different. After finishing their meal he led her out of the cafe' and towards the beach. Seeing her eyes light up at the sight of the sea he grinned softly. Thankfully there was no one around and he found himself relaxing with her walking by his side down the moon lit beach. They were playing their normal game of asking each other questions, "Ketchup." he answered when she asked his least favorite thing to eat.

"What? What is wrong with you ketchup is amazing. It's how you cover up bad tasting food." you giggled. 

"Or you could simply not eat said bad tasting food." he told her with one brow raised and the corner of his lip pulled up. "What about you?" 

"Sauerkraut. I hate that stuff with a fiery passion. The head mother at the orphanage used to give us that shit constantly and I refused to eat it, went on a hunger strike and everything." you told him, hearing him chuckle. Looking out at the beach you smiled at the sight of the tiny sea turtles that were digging their way out of the nest and awkwardly moving towards the shore. 

Noticing what had caught her eye he moved them to the large rocks to sit on so she could watch them. Thinking on something he lit his cigar and inhaled a large breath of smoke, thinking on how to ask, "You told me that the owner of the bar, Vick, had saved your life, what did you mean?"

Biting your lip you kept your eyes on the turtle hatch-lings. "Well I told you I got in trouble stealing food and stuff... when I was a teenager I was living on the streets, I'd steal food and clothes, I was barely making it by when winter came, One night I got desperate, I was freezing and tired and hungry so I sneaked into the bar and found the stock room. Vick used to cook every now and again so there was a little bit of food there and it was warm. Before I knew it I had fallen asleep. When morning came I left before he got there but at closing time I sneaked back in again. Did this for four nights in a row. On the fifth night I walked into that stockroom and found a plate of food sitting there along with a blanket and pillow set up on a small cot. I was so scared, he knew I was staying there, that I was breaking in and I was certain it was all just some trick and he would call and have me arrested. you told him and then grinned, "But he didn't. When I went to leave he was sitting at the bar and asked me how the food was." Shrugging your shoulders you watched the turtles disappear into the water. "He gave me a job, set me up in that house I was living in and took the rent out of my check. He helped me get on my feet and start my own life." 

Furrowing his brows he glanced down at her and felt a ache in his chest at the thought of her like that. "He sounds like he was a kind man." he said lowly.

"He was." you nodded. Taking a deep breath you looked up to him, "So what is you plan to do now? I heard Bonez say something to you about a crew, planning on getting Baroque Works back together, Mr. 0?" you asked him with a grin.

Raising a brow he huffed out, "No."

"Aww but I liked Bon Clay, he's so funny." 

"He's an imbosol." he said with a roll of his eyes and heard her giggle lightly. "Who was your least favorite of my employees?"

Tilting your head you raised your brows, "I wasn't really too fond of any of them except for Bon Clay, Bonez and Miss Goldenweek. I really didn't like Mr. 3 or Miss merry Chirstmas though." 

Humming he nodded and continued puffing on his cigar. Seeing all the turtles gone he stood and held his hand out ot help her down. 

Placing your hand in his huge on you thanked him as he helped you down. 

"Come, I want to show you something." he told her. 

Choosing to walk closer to the water this time you grinned at the feel of the sand beneath your toes. "What the devil fruit you ate look like?" you asked as you walked beside him. 

"Roundish with a bumpy texture, about the same color as sand. Tasted horrible, probably the worst thing I have ever eaten." 

"Bet you wished you had some ketchup then huh?"

Laughing he heard her giggling beside him and licked his lips. "The man's clothes you let me borrow, you said he was your ex, what was his name?" he asked. 

Shocked by his question you flicked your brows but focused on the little waves kissing your feet. "John." 

John. What kind of name was John? "What happened between you both?" 

Licking your lips you felt a blush tint your cheeks, you could lie, he wouldn't know the difference but you didn't want to lie to him, as far as you knew he had never lied to you. Taking a deep breath you looked out towards the sea. "He was ready for intimacy, I wasn't." 

That had not been what he was expecting. Glancing to her out of the corner of his eye he saw her eyes focused on the sea. He found himself biting down on his cigar as a strange feeling bubbled inside of his gut. "How long were you together?" he gritted out, trying to keep his voice void of the emotion he was feeling. 

"A couple months." you shrugged, wrapping your arms around your body when the wind picked up. 

Frowning he lifted his chin, "He expected that after only two months?" he scoffed. 

"I guess we both had different ideas about what we wanted. Should have known better anyway." you told him with a huff.

"Why do you say that?" 

"Nina is the one who convinced me to give him a shot. He was her cousin and he only came down every two weeks. I'm pretty sure you know more about me than he did." 

Well that made him feel a little better but still, the knowledge that this man had tried to get her into bed with him made his temper flare. Looking back down at her and seeing her arms wrapped around her body and the dress blowing in the wind he removed his coat and folded part of it down before placing it over her shoulders. 

Gasping a little at the heavy weight you looked to see he had put his coat on your shoulders. Looking up to him you furrowed your brows and went to give it back to him but he only it around you.

"I don't need you getting sick." he told her in a deep voice, leaving no room for discussion. When she stopped fighting he finally glanced down at her and felt that warmth spreading, his heart beating a little quicker. Something about the sight of her tiny form wrapped in his too large coat did something to him. Adjusting the cigar he looked up as a shadow came over the beach some and saw y/n look up at the ship. "That is my next plan." he told her and saw her look up to him. Grinning he wrapped his arm around her, "Don't scream." was all he said before he was lifting them up onto the empty deck. 

Gasping you tensed up as the sand flew around you but did as he said and didn't scream. As soon as you were on the deck of the ship you watched his body reform to stand beside you, his arm still holding you in his side. " A little more warning next time if you please." you told him and saw him smile. Looking around the dark, empty desk you saw it was all mostly dark wood. "Would you be surprised if I told you I had never been on a ship before?" you said in a soft voice. 

Raising his brows he slowly removed his hand from her side and watched as she cautiously walked towards the railing. Moving beside her he saw her eyes meet his, "Then allow me to give you the grand tour my dear." placing his hand on her back to start leading her around his new ship.


	6. Chapter 6

He was awoken by soft whimpering and mumbling. Rubbing his eyes he turned his head to look towards the sofa that y/n was sleeping on. He had planned on telling her to just sleep in the bed with him when they had gotten back but by the time he got out of the shower she was already asleep. Again he had wrapped her up in his coat before going to sleep on the bed. Glancing at her now he saw her still curled up, her back facing him as she slept. A soft barely audible whine left her lips but that was the last he heard. While living with her he had thought he heard her on a few occasions but he had never said anything about it. Figuring whatever nightmares were bothering her had stopped he let his eyes close again and drifted back to sleep. 

Waking up when he felt the need to relieve his bladder he got up from bed and walked towards the bathroom, the room dark. After he was done he moved back towards the bed but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the sofa was empty, his fur coat laying there alone. Now fully awake he looked around the room but didn't see her anywhere. Walking over to the the door he noticed it unlocked and knit his brows before opening it quietly. Peeking out to the small sitting area he saw her sitting in one of the chairs. Her back was rising and falling rather quickly and glancing to her eyes he aw them exhausted. Opening the door more he took a quick scan over the rest of the area but didn't see anyone there. Moving towards her he saw her shaking slightly and frowned. "y/n." he said softly, his voice still rough from sleep. When she didn't seem to hear him he reached out to touch her shoulder and saw her flinch out of the chair, her eyes snapping to his with fear evident in them. She had never looked at him with fear, never. She knew everything about him, knew everything he had done and everything he was capable of but she had never held an ounce of fear in her eyes. Furrowing his brows he watched that fear slowly melt away and heard her take a deep breath. 

"Did I wake you? I'm sorry I..." you apologized, looking down and shaking your head in embarrassment.

"No. Come back inside." he said and stood there while she moved towards the door to their room. Walking in behind her he closed and locked the door. Watching her move towards the sofa again he tilted his head. "What were you doing out there?" 

Sitting on the couch you pulled your knees up to your chest and hugged them, "I had a bad dream and I didn't want to wake you." you told him, staring down at the floor. 

"You can't go off like that, someone could have taken you without me ever knowing." he told her and saw her head lower, much like a child that was being scolded. Hearing her apologize softly he let out a sigh and moved back over to her, Placing his hand on her head he rubbed down to her neck, "Get some sleep y/n." was all he said before she nodded and moved to lay back down on the sofa, pulling his coat tightly around her. 

..............................

Waking up you looked around the small room that had been deemed yours, or at least until you got to go back home. The walls, floor and ceiling were all wooden. There was a small window which allowed in fresh air and a little light. Crocodile had gotten you a small bed as well, nothing special but it fit you just fine and was better than that damn sofa which had your back hurting. The crew had started late yesterday and not wanting to get in the way you had stayed in your room like Crocodile asked. Which was fine because it gave you time to get your little room in order, you placed your clothes in the bottom drawer of the small dresser and put your other things in the top one. Thankfully you had been able to get the items you had asked for, a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, a razor and a hairbrush. The man had rolled his eyes at the list before looking to you...

_"I was already going to get you these things, I meant was there anything you actually wanted to keep busy."_

_"A book."_

_"You are impossible." he grumbled and saw her give him a large smile._

Chuckling lightly at the memory you got up and did your exercises before you got dressed, choosing to wear the black pants, which were more like thick leggings than jeans and blouse he had gotten you. Brushing your teeth and hair you cleaned your face and grabbed your small mirror to look over our reflection, making sure you looked presentable. He had told you when you woke up to come see him, having already been shown where his room/ office was on your grand tour. At first you wondered if he was up already but while doing your morning exercises you heard his deep voice yelling something at someone. The sound making your eyes go wide and your whole body freeze. Leaving off your boots and socks you took a deep breath before opening the door to your room and peeking down the hallway. Not seeing anyone you stepped out and closed the door behind you. Walking towards the stairs you slowly made the climb up, already being able to feel the breeze from the ocean. Getting on the deck you looked out and grinned softly at the seeing the open water, the wind blowing your hair and the smell filling your nose. All your life you had wanted to see the ocean and now you were living on it, if only for the time being. Turning to go towards Crocodile's room you stiffened when you heard a deep voice.

"The hell is this?" 

"Is that a fuckin' woman?" 

"Where the hell did she come from?"

"Thought we weren't allowed to bring any females back on ship?"

"Maybe she's a stowaway." 

Furrowing your brows you looked over the many faces now crowding around you. Other than Bonez you hadn't had the chance to meet any of the other crew members yet. "Hello." you said, your voice coming out smaller than you intended. When they just kept on talking about you like you weren't there you moved to squeeze past them. "Excuse me." 

"Now where do you think you are going girly?" 

Feeling him grab your wrist you snapped your eyes up to his face and saw he was a rather tall man, not as tall as Crocodile but still taller than you. He had dirty blond hair and a beard that needed a trim. His brown eyes looked at you in a way that made you want to curl up, his touch making your skin crawl. "Let go of me." you said, holding your ground. 

"Giving commands are we now?" he smirked. 

"I will say it one more time, Let me go." you all but growled. When he started laughing you grit your teeth and brought your knee up to his groin. All too soon the man's grip fell from your wrist as he went to cradled his sore manhood. Quickly moving away from him you saw some of the others looking at you with wide eyes. 

"You are going to regret that bitch." the blond man growled. 

The way he looked at you scared you a little bit and you went to run away but he was quickly wrapping his arms around you, one hand covering your mouth when you went to scream. Being drug back down the stairs you kicked your feet out and tried wiggling out of the men's hold. Feeling another grab your legs when the one holding you told him to you felt panic fill you. Looking at the walls you noticed you were being taken down to the bottom floors of the ship where the storage rooms and brig were. Biting down on the man's hand you felt him remove it for only a second but that was all you needed. "CROCODILE!" you screamed before a hand was back over your mouth. 

An eerie feeling came over the ship and you felt a sudden blast of wind on your face before a rush of sand was flying down the stairs towards you and manifesting into a very angry looking man. 

"What in the hell do you think you are doing?!" he growled, his voice coming out like venom and making everyone freeze. Looking down to the three men who were all holding y/n he snapped his eyes to the one with his hand still over her mouth. "Let her go you pathetic dogs." 

Being dropped to the floor you let out a 'ooff' and heard another growl from Crocodile before he was holding his hand out for you to take. Taking it without a second thought you were hauled up and pulled to stand beside him. 

Giving the men a hard look he placed his hand on her back and tuned them to go back to the deck. Taking her to stand at the top desk where the entry to his room was he looked down on all them men seeing Bonez looking up to him with his normal blank look and his arms crossed over his chest. As soon as the others from below had come up he grit his teeth. "I will say this once and I expect you to get it through your thick skulls." he growled. Wrapping his arm around y/n he brought her to stand in front of him feeling her stiffen and try to move but only back up into his chest. Trapping her between him and the railing he stood tall above her, "This is Y/n L/n. She is apart of the crew and you will treat her with the same respect as you would me. If I find out any of you try to do her harm again I will drain you dry and leave you as nothing but a pile of ash. Am I understood?!"

"Yes Captain!" 

Turning he held y/n's wrist and pulled her into his room with him before closing the door. Walking to the chair by his desk he sat down in it and looked up to see her still standing where he had left her, her eyes avoiding him and her one hand rubbing her arm. Seeing her wearing the clothes he had picked out for her he took the time to admire how well they fit her. The pants were form fitting, showing off her womanly curves. The neckline of the shirt was another V-cut but not enough to show any cleavage, just enough to let him see the smooth skin of her neck, the skin he wanted to taste and leave his mark on... NO! NO! "What happened out there?" he asked, quickly looking down to his papers. 

Biting your lip you looked to the shelf with a few books on it, "I was coming to see you and then they were there." you told him. 

Glancing back up at her he saw her eyes scanning over the books but her feet keeping her where she was standing. "Stop standing there like a statue." he told her a bit more rough than needed. Seeing her brows twitch he let out a deep sigh, he was still on edge from before. "I mean you don't have to be so uncomfortable in here, you welcomed me into your home, I offer the same freedom in my own space." he said, waving his hand through the air to the room around him. When she gave him a small grin he looked back down to his desk. 

Looking around the room for the first time since everything had been brought in you saw a large bed in the back corner of the room, black duvets and sheets on it along with many pillows. A tall wardrobe stood against the wall and a fancy rug was laid on the floor. A desk made of the same dark wood as the bed and wardrobe sat in the middle of the room, a matching expensive chair and sofa on either side of it. Walking towards the shelves that lined the walls you glanced over the few books that took up only a small amount of the space that would be filled later you were sure. Noticing a opening you glanced inside and saw it was a private bathroom with a huge claw foot tub included. Definitely the captain's quarters, you thought and grinned as you reached up to take down one of the books. Turning it over to see it was a book of different islands and such. 

"What are your grinning about?" he asked in a light tone so as not to make her defensive again. 

"Nothing, just thinking about how you this room is." you grinned. 

Huffing he raised a brow, " I don't know if that is supposed to be a compliment or not." 

"It is, I like it." you told him, turning and taking the book to the sofa. 

He couldn't help but grin at hearing she liked his quarters. Glancing to the book in her hands he lifted his chin. "What are some of the islands you liked that you have seen?" 

Humming you thought back, "Well I liked Little Garden, Alabasta, Water Seven looked like a pretty place too. Oh and the Sky Islands. Pretty much all of them looked like places I would like to go." 

"Did you see my resort in that book?" he asked and saw her nod and smile. "Would you have liked to go there?"

"Of course, although I wouldn't have went to the casino part." seeing him raise a brow you smiled, "I am a horrible gambler, like God awful." you told him with a giggle and heard him chuckle. "Where are we going now?" you asked. 

"I don't really know yet. We'll stop at the next island and go on from there." he told her and saw her nod. 

"So what do you need me to do?" you asked and saw him sit back in the chair and cross his arms over his chest. "Come on I need something to do, I don't like just sitting around doing nothing you know that. Give me a job or something Captain." you said with a soft smile. 

His breath hitched in his throat when he heard her call him Captain. Reaching for his box of cigars he grabbed his lighter and lit the end as he thought. "Well you have never been on a ship before so I won't ask you to help work the sails."

"Yea probably not a good idea, somehow I'd have us going in circles." you smiled. 

Chuckling lightly he inhaled. "Yes, you stay away form the sails and wheel until I or Bonez can teach you." letting out a puff of smoke he looked her over. He wouldn't make her clean, didn't want her hands to turn rough. Getting an idea he stood and walked over to her, sitting beside her and looking down at her, "I want you to keep an eye on the crew for me. I know Bonez, I don't trust anyone but I trust him to know better than to betray me..."

"You don't trust me either?" you asked, trying to make your voice sound playful but it came out soft, your heart aching a bit at the thought. 

Looking down at her he saw the small amount of hurt in her eyes and felt a stinging in his chest. Taking a deep breath he blew the smoke out away from her and pulled the cigar from his mouth. Flickering his eyes over the small woman beside him in thought. "You my dear I would trust with my life." he said, his voice low and deep, shocking him even as he spoke. He had never trusted anyone, not with anything but this woman, there was something about her. Looking into her blue eyes he felt a sense of peace come over him that he had never felt before. Blinking he took in a breath and straightened back up, "The others however I do not know and so I would like you to watch them, if they do something that you think is wrong or suspicious then I want you to come tell me. Sound like something you would be willing to do?" he asked with a raised brow. 

Smiling you nodded. 

......................................

Woken from the dead of sleep he sat up in his bed and rubbed his face. He didn't know what had happened he just woke up, he had been sleeping so good too. Listening out for anything, the only sound was that of the waves hitting the ship. Standing up he threw on his coat, not bothering with a shirt but regretting it as he made his way out onto the deck. Glancing up he saw Hex on watch in the crow's nest like he should be. At the sound of the door shutting the quiet man looked down to him and gave a small bow of his head before his eyes turned towards the sea. It was chilly out tonight, the moon mostly covered by clouds and the wind cold. Still feeling off he decided to walk around a bit to hopefully help him relax so he could get back to sleep. Walking around the front of the deck he checked over this and that, lighting a cigar from his pocket and puffing away on it as his eyes glanced over the dark water. The should be at the next island by tomorrow and he was eager to get the hell away from his crew for a few days. Tapping his fingers on the railing he grumbled when a gust of wind blew his hair in his face, turning to brush it back he narrowed his eyes when something caught his attention. Quietly walking towards the back of the ship he saw it was y/n. She was sitting on the deck, her legs crossed under her and her eyes looking out blankly at the water. She was wearing only the thin satin pajamas he had got her, her hair blowing wildly in the wind along with her shirt. She hadn't noticed him yet and he tilted his head when he noticed the distant look in her eyes, her trembling fingers grasping the locket that was normally around her neck. "Y/n..." he called but just like the night at the inn she didn't hear him. Crouching down beside her he touched her shoulder and saw her flinch, her eyes shooting to his face. 

"Croc...crocodile..." 

Hearing how shaky her voice was made his brows furrow. Looking to her paled skin and her bluish tinted lips he frowned. "How long have you been out here?" he asked but she didn't answer. 

Blinking you shook your head and looked down, trying to get some kind of moisture into your dry mouth. "I...I'm sorry." you whispered. Standing and slowly starting to walk towards the stairs with your head hung low and your mind still fuzzy.

Something was wrong, he may have only known her for almost three and a half weeks but he knew, he could feel it. She looked so frail as she moved to go back down to her room, her eyes staring down at her feet and her whole body shaking. Even her voice sounded off, not the normal joyful and calming one he was used to. "Y/n." he called but she didn't stop, taking quick steps towards her he reached out and grabbed her arm, spinning her back around to face him. Her skin was freezing. "Look at me." 

Slowly looking up his bare chest to his face you saw his silver eyes looking down at you with concern. 

Her eyes, she looked afraid again. "What's wrong?" he asked in a low, deep voice but she only shook her head and went to look away. Quickly bringing up his left arm he placed his scared wrist under her jaw. He had been expecting her to recoil away from the nub like the very few women had before but she didn't, she didn't even act like it fazed her. His heart, that always seemed to thaw when he was around her beat a little harder at the knowledge. Looking around at her face he moved his hand to hers and laced his fingers with her small ones before pulling her behind him towards his room. Shutting it he pulled her over to the bed and sat her in it before pulling the duvet over her to warm her freezing body. Tossing his coat to the back of his chair. Walking to the shelf he grabbed two glasses and set them down before filling them a quarter of the way with his whiskey and carrying them over to her. 

Taking the glass tumbler when he held it out in front of you you mumbled a small thank you but kept your eyes down. Feeling the bed dip as he sat on it next to you you sipped at the amber liquid, feeling it burn it's way down your throat. 

He watched her for a time, seeing her nurse her glass close to her lips her eyes staring at the rug. "Y/n... talk to me." 

His voice was deep and low but you knew it wasn't a question. Swallowing the whiskey down that was in your mouth you took a deep breath, "It's just a dream, just a bad dream." you told him. 

"Dreams or not, they are bothering you and I want to know what they are."

Licking your lips you closed your eyes, "Just one, it's only ever one dream, the same one since I was a little girl." you told him. When he didn't say anything you took that as a sign to continue. "Every time it's different but at the same time it's the same. Sometimes I'm young other times i'm the age I am now. They are always there though, they always look the same." 

"Who are they?" he asked and looked down when he heard a click, noticing she had opened the locket that was in her right hand.

"Them." you answered. "They are always saying something but I can never hear them. They are covered in blood and bruises. Then there is this other woman, well I guess it is a woman, she is chasing me. I'm running down this hallway with all these mirrors but they don't reflect me, they show all these other places and people." you told him with knitted brows. " I know it doesn't make any sense." you said shaking your head and closing your eyes. 

"What happens after that?" he asked. 

Taking another sip of your drink you bit your lip, "Well this woman is there and she is crying and saying something then she pushes me into one of the mirrors as a blade gets shoved through her chest and then I wake up." you sigh. "I used to only get them every few months. Seems like I have been having them more often here lately though." 

Humming he looked to her and saw her eyes were focused on the faded picture in the locket. Tilting his head he watched her thumb rub over the broken compass. The damn needle pointing towards him which would be southwest not north. Looking down to where his left hand should be he bit down on the cigar. "I always have a nightmare of Whitebeard cutting off my hand, although sometimes he cuts off my whole arm or even my head." 

"It was a traumatic event in your life, makes sense you would dream about it." you told him with a soft, tired grin. Seeing the cigar pinched between his lips you reached up and plucked it out of his mouth, "You know, nicotine has been proven to cause bad dreams and mask exhaustion. May want to consider cutting out your late night smokes." you told him, feeling him catch your wrist in a firm but not painful hold.

Had she been anyone else he would have killed her for that but all he could do was look at her, into her tired eyes. "Do you have no fear of me?" he asked, his voice low and more deep than usual.

"Should I?" you asked, staring up into his lidded silver eyes. 

Blinking slowly he exhaled, "No." Looking down to her lips he swallowed hard, his heart picking up speed. 

A large sway of the ship broke you out of your clouded mind and you stiffened, feeling him move his arm around you to keep you from falling out of the high bed. As soon as you regained your balance you blushed and looked down, "I think I am going to try and get a little more sleep." you said in a soft voice. 

"I think that would be wise." he replied, masking his disappointment. Standing he held his hand out to help her off the bed and took her glass to place it on the bedside table for now along with the cigar. Walking her to the door he opened it slightly and saw her turn to look up at him. 

"Thank you. Goodnight Croc." you said with a soft smile before you walked out of the door and towards the stairs. 

"Goodnight Starlight." he said barely above a whisper.

...............................

You hadn't seen him since yesterday at lunch time, he hadn't come down for breakfast or lunch and now he was missing his second dinner. You had wondered if he was sick but Bonez had told you that he was just busy and that he got like that sometimes. Busy or not he still needed to eat. You had lived to gather for two weeks, you and you wallet knew how much the giant man could eat. Asking Maverick to make you a plate for the Captain you saw him nod at you and grin. You like the cook that reminded you of a Scottish man even though you knew there wasn't such place here. He had bright red hair with a large mustache and long goatee that he kept braided down to his chest. He was older, older than Crocodile and he was kind but stern. 

"Ere' ya go lass." he said, handing the young woman ate of food. 

Smiling up at him you nodded your head in thanks and went to leave the kitchen. 

"Run along, Captain's whore." 

Looking back with furrowed brows you saw Dolson looking at you with that ever unsettling smirk. The two men beside him chuckling into their mugs. Choosing to just ignore them today you went up the steps and onto the deck before going up the the Captain's door and knocking. 

"Go away."

Hearing his deep voice you sighed and took out the piece of paper from your back pocket. Crouching down with his plate still balanced on your palm you slid the piece of paper under the door and waited. 

Leaning over his desk focusing on his map he grunted out to whoever wanted to bother him. He had thought they went away but when he heard a light scrapping he looked up to see a piece of paper on the dark hardwood floor. Standing he made his way over and bent over to pick up the beige paper with his hook. Looking over the drawing he saw it was a cartoon, A girl sitting on the back of a Crocodile, one hand holding it's top jaw open while the other was feeding it... forcibly. It was very comical looking and he couldn't help the small pull at the corner of his mouth. Walking to the door he unlocked it and then opened it a little to see the artist standing there looking up at him with a smile as she held a plate of food in her hands. "I am taking it this is your way of getting me to eat?" he asked, holding up the picture. When she only hummed he rose a brow, "And if I decline?"

Holding the plate with one hand you picked the piece of paper off his hook and flipped it around to show him the drawing on the back you had ready, already expecting him to try and deny meal again. 

Looking over the backside he saw a rough sketch of a pair of boots, Crocodile skin boots. Chuckling he stepped back and held the door open for her, watching her walk under his arm before he shut the door. Turning he saw her carefully moving the papers out of the way before she sat the plate on the desk top and setting out his cutlery. Walking up behind her he dropped his eyes to her bare feet and then moved them up her jean clad legs, admiring how the fabric fit her thighs and shaped her ass. A warmth settled in his lower abdomen and he bit down on his cigar before he rounded the chair and sat down. He had been finding it hard to focus on his work, a certain woman filling his mind. Tapping out his cigar he went to grab the fork when he saw her going to leave and felt his brow twitch. "Wait." he said quickly and saw her turn to look at him, her soft grin on her face as always. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"I didn't think you wanted to be bothered right now... Bonez said you were busy."

Clearing his throat he tapped his foot, "I am but perhaps you could keep me company while I eat." 

Nodding you moved to the sofa and sat down. "So what's been keeping you so busy?" you asked. 

"Different things, I plan on staying low, I do not wish to go back to prison but I also need some sort of way to get money." he told her and heard her hum. "I've heard of a few ships that come through this way that hold quite a lot of treasure on board but rumor has it they are also crewed by some who may not give their treasure up so easily." 

"So in a nut shell you want to take over these ships, without causing so much attention that the marines come looking for you." 

"Yes. Problem is I also have to try and figure out what route these ships will take." he told her as he ate. 

"Isn't Shank's territory somewhere around here?" 

"Yes."

"Well from what it kind of said in the manga I know that he doesn't really bother the cargo ships too much, he's laid back and doesn't like unneeded bloodshed. Other than to steal the occasional sake' he doesn't mess with anyone. But he also doesn't take kindly to other pirates causing a ruckus in his area.... you could always see about catching the cargo ships when they come out of his domain." you told him. 

Humming he sat back as he finished his food. "What do you know about Red head?" 

"Not much, no one does, The One Piece manga was way further in than I had read and I know even there not much is known about him. I know he was from the West blue, he was on Roger's crew along with Buggy."

"How did he loose his arm?"

Smiling you leaned forward to rest your chin in your palm. "He saved Luffy from a sea king." 

Raising his brow he leaned forward to grab his glass of water. "He knows that little brat too?"

"Shanks is the reason Luffy became a Pirate. Garp trained Luffy to be a marine, he wanted him to be stronger than him but Luffy still to this day thinks Shanks is the greatest pirate to sail the sea." 

Listening to her tell him about how the Straw-hat got his devil fruit power and how Shanks tried talking Whitebeard into calling off Ace he huffed. "The old fool." 

"Well he kinda couldn't, he didn't tell Ace to go after Blackbeard in the first place."

"So it was mutiny." he said and saw her nod.

"They way Ace saw it was that Blackbeard had killed Thatch and betrayed his father so he had to die." you told him and heard him grunt. You knew he didn't like Whitebeard, for good reason. 

"Does Shanks know where the One Piece is?" he asked getting off the Whitebeard topic.

"I don't think so. The only person I know of that actually knew where it was was Whitebeard." 

Nodding slowly he grabbed the map and saw her stand and come near him. When she sat her phone by him he saw a cord coming out of the end of it and knit his brows. 

"Here, when ever I wanted something to help me focus I used to listen to music." you said, moving to stand beside his chair.

"Music?" he huffed.

"Won't hurt to try." you shrugged. Turning it on you brought up your playlist and showed him how to flip through the songs. "There is like three hundred songs up here so maybe you can find something you like."

"How is this thing even still working here?" he asked. 

"I had packed my solar charger in my bag when we went hiking. Of course there is no service her but I can still use it for music and little stuff like that... Look there is even a camera." you told him, Leaning your head by him and snapping a picture of the two of you, you smiling while he sat here with one brow raised.

Looking at the picture he huffed and watched her sit it back by him and go back to the music. 

"Okay so you put these in your ear and then press this button when you want to play or pause the music." you told him. "Make sure to turn it off when you are done with it. I'll see you tomorrow." you told him, Taking the plate from his desk. 

"Goodnight." he told her as she went to leave. Looking down at the thing he sighed before pushing the little things into his ears and pressing 'play'. As soon as the music started up he knit his brows. The first three songs he flipped through, not liking how the beat was. Getting to one he glanced down to his paper and heard the lyrics start up. 

_I can't stop the way I feel_   
_Things you do don't seem real_   
_Tell me what you've got in mind_   
_'Cause we're running out of time_   
_Won't you ever set me free?_   
_This waiting 'round's killing me_

_She drives me crazy, like no one else_   
_She drive me crazy, and I can't help myself..._

Freezing he looked from the papers to the phone and then to the door. So much for focusing on his work.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning reader has a fucked up childhood.

Getting to the small island you looked around and saw most of the crew heading off towards the town, most likely ready to spend some of the money and treasure they had gotten from the cargo ship heist. Rubbing your arm you bit your lip and furrowed your brows. Since you hadn't participated you didn't get any of the prize, which was fine, you understood you just didn't know what to do now. Crocodile had business to take care of and he had left the ship as soon as it docked. He had seemed a little distant since the other night and you hoped you hadn't done anything. You knew you would be here for at least two days and so you decided to head out and find something to do. You didn't really want to go to the town, not with Dolson there. Seeing a small road going out the what looked like farm land you grinned, maybe you could find a peaceful place to draw. Hearing the sound of a pained sigh you furrowed your brows and looked over to the field to see a older man and woman. Noticing the man bent over and the woman trying to help him up you walked over. "Do you need help?" you asked. 

Looking up and seeing the young woman walking over the rows of beans towards them the woman smiled. "If you wouldn't mind dear..."

Shaking your head you grinned and grabbed the man's hand before helping him up from his position, hearing his pained groan as he stood back straight, his hand moving to hold his lower back. 

"Oh thank you dear, if you hadn't come along I don't know how long he would have been stuck like that." the old woman said. 

"Working the farm isn't as easy as it used to be." the man said with a sigh. 

"No but we'll get it Niz." 

Looking down the rows of snap beans you looked back to the old couple. "If you need any help I'd be more than happy to help you." you told the old couple. 

"No, no we couldn't trouble you...."

"It's no trouble, I don't have anything else to do." you said with a smile and a light chuckle. 

.....................................

Walking back onto the ship he dropped off the things he had bought in his room before going to look over the ship. He found the chief sitting on a stool snapping beans on the front of the deck. He didn't remember agreeing to the vegetable when he looked over the shopping list. "Where'd these come from?" he asked.

Looking up Maverick gave a small grin, "Lass brought them to me a few hours ago."

"Y/n? Where did she get them?" he asked. He had forgotten to give her any money so he knew she had no way to pay for them. 

"Said she picked em', helped some ol' couple all day an' so they let er' take these as payment." Maverick said, grinning around his cigarette. "Should be enough here to feed the crew for a few days." 

Grunting he knit his brows. "Where is she now?" 

"Sleepin' most likely. Lass offered to help snap em' but she could barely keep er' eyes open. Sun seemed to ave' got er' pretty good. I suspect she's gonna be sore come mornin'." 

Huffing he nodded his head to the older man before walking down the stairs to y/n's room. He had been keep his distance for the past day, both work and personal reasons. He was growing attached to the woman, feeling things he had never felt for anyone before and he didn't like it. Feelings were a weakness and he couldn't afford to be weak. Not to mention the two week mark was coming up and he didn't know wither she would suddenly disappear like and go back to her world like he had his. 

Knocking lightly on the door with his hook he didn't hear anything. Trying the knob he found it locked and sighed. Looking down he saw the gap under the door and turned to sand, flowing under the door and reforming back once he was inside the dark room. Looking to the bed he froze, she was sleeping on her stomach... shirtless and judging by her leg sticking out of the blanket she was pant-less as well. Quickly catching his cigar before it fell from his lips he swallowed thickly and closed the distance between him and the single bed. Looking over her bare skin he felt his fingers twitch as he craved to stroke the soft skin over her spine. Her hair was fanned out around her, some of it laying over her shoulders and upper back and a few strands in her face. He watched the slow rise and fall as she breathed in, she was sleeping deeply. Maverick had been right she looked exhausted. Why the hell had she went and worked? Looking around the small room he saw the little dresser beside the bed, her locket and drawing book the only thing there. Her book bag sat beside the dresser, empty it look like. He guessed her clothes were put away neatly in the dresser along with her other few personal hygiene products. She was a simple woman, this was their second island now and she had not bothered asking for anything. Not a new book or clothes or jewelry or even food. Oh fuck... food. Had she eaten today? Looking back down to her when she rolled over to her side he saw her arms move to her chest, her forearm covering her breasts. Following the shape of her body with his eyes he saw how her waist dipped in some before coming back out to shape her hips. When his cock throbbed in his pants he grit his teeth, what was this woman doing to him? It was like he was a damn teenager again. Rubbing his face he reached down to pull the blanket up over her some, quickly turning to sand and hurrying to his room. 

....................................

The next day he had not been surprised when she slept in. Telling Bonez to come find him once she woke he was now making his way back to the ship. Getting on he looked to the two men left to keep watch, "Where's y/n?" he asked. 

"Off ship Captain." the young man said quickly.

Growling he narrowed his eyes, "Which way did she go?" 

"I..I..."

"I believe she headed down the beach Captain." the other man added in when the other kept stuttering over his words.

Without another word he got off and started walking down the shoreline. "I'm going to have to assign someone as her bodyguard. Damn woman never sits still." he grumbled to himself. After ten minutes of walking he could feel his temper flaring until he saw a head of red hair up ahead. Walking to the female he saw her hacking away at a tree and furrowed his brows. "What are you doing?"

"Ow shit." you cursed when the sudden deep voice caught you off guard making your hand slip and the knife slice open the top of your thumb. Holding your other hand over the now bleeding gash you looked to him with a small glare. "I am going to hang a bell around your neck." 

Ignoring her little remark he stepped forward and took her right hand in his, trying to pull it away from her injured left hand.

"It's fine. Leave it alone." you told him, trying to snatch your hands away from him.

Seeing her still holding the knife he growled. "Give me that." he said, taking the knife from her and stabbing it into the tree. Pulling away her hand he held up her injured one with the backside of his hook to look it over. Seeing the cut fairly deep and bleeding still he sighed. Letting go of her hand he reached up to his neck and started untying his scarf. 

"It will be fine." you tried telling him, going to pull away when he gave you a hard glare, silently telling you to not move. 

Ripping it off he went about wrapping the silk scarf around her injury, "Hold the end." he told her around his cigar. As soon as she held the other end he tied it off and pulled tight, hearing her let out a little yelp. Once he was satisfied he looked down at her and grabbed her hand, "Back to the ship." 

"No, wait." you said, turning to grab you knife. Attempting to pull it from the tree you found it stuck in deep and looked up at him. Without a word he grabbed the knife and pulled it from the trunk. Seeing her grabbing the pieces of bark that had splintered up and stuff them in her pocket he knit his brows. "Willow bark... you are in pain." he commented, knowing the bark was used as a pain reliever. 

Sighing you looked down form his eyes and went to grab your knife from his hand. "It's nothing just a little back pain." you told him. 

Grunting he allowed her to take the knife and fold it up before she stuck it in her back pocket. "From picking beans all day yesterday." he said as he started leading her back to his ship. "Why did you do that exactly?" he asked. 

Shrugging you walked beside him. "Didn't have anything else to do." 

"So you decided to spend all day doing free farm work..."

"It wasn't free, I got beans for the crew." 

"And now your back hurts and your hand is cut open." he huffed. "When I told you to go find something to do I did not mean go work yourself to exhaustion." 

"Hard work never hurt anyone." 

"Y/n..." he started.

"I have to find some way to contribute. I don't do anything else to help... I'm just free loading on your ship." you told him, looking down.

Stopping at the walk board he grabbed her hand and looked down at her. "What exactly do you think I was doing to you? I didn't work or do anything to pay for the things you did for me." he told her. 

Looking up into his silver eyes you furrowed your brows, "You did more than you realize." you told him and reached up to remove a stray leaf from his fur coat. 

Knitting his brows at the slightly sad look in her blue eyes he opened his mouth to question what she meant but before he could he heard someone calling him. 

"Sir Marine ships are on the horizon." Bonez said in a deep voice.

Straightening his back he nodded, "Ready the sails." looking down at her he dropped his eyes to her hand, "Go clean that up." 

....................................

It had been a few days since he they had gotten to the island, it was a cold Island with harsh winds. However that didn't seem to stop y/n from wanting to explore the place. While he and his crew had a few things to take care of she had wondered off to do her own thing, much to his dismay. He actually hadn't seen her too much and now that the crew had went off to do their own thing for their last night on the island he had went in search of her. He had searched the village, the shore and even the hills but so far he had not seen her. Gritting his teeth down on his cigar he moved back to the ship wondering if she had went back to her room for the night. Seeing the three members of the crew sitting by a fire to keep warm while playing cards he rose his chin, "You three seen y/n?" he asked. 

"Aye, little lass went back onto ship a little while ago." Maverick told him in his thick accent. 

"She looked rather angry..." the younger of the three said. 

"Dolson probably." Hex grunted. 

"Aye, man keep it up an' she's likely ta loose it."

"It will be his own fault if she does. She's warned him enough times." 

Hearing the three men all talk like he wasn't there he knit his brows. "What are you all talking about?"

Adjusting the cards in his hand Hex looked towards his Captain, "That Dolson, he's been testing his limits with y/n."

"By what means?"

"Mav got on him the other morning for taking her food." The young man said in a low voice. 

"Why wasn't any of this mentioned to me prior?" he growled. 

"She wanted to take care of it on her own."

Turning some he saw Bonez standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. Raising his brow he looked to his next in command. "You knew about this as well?"

"Yes. I told her if it got any worse she was to tell you or I would, so I am here now."

"Then it got worse." he said in a deep voice and heard the man grunt. "How so?"

Biting down on his cigar so hard he was sure he would soon bite it in half he made his way to the ship. Going to go down the stairs he stopped when he saw a small light glowing from the window of his own room. Climbing the steps to the door he opened it and as soon as he stepped inside he was hit with the scent of eucalyptus. "Y/n?" he called, seeing the candle on his desk was the one giving off the light. Hearing her soft hum he raised his brow as he closed the door and slowly walked into the room. "Are you in my bathroom?" he asked, seeing the door pulled to. 

"Revenge, you use my tub, I use yours." you told him, keeping your eyes closed as you brought the bottle to your lips. "More like a swimming pool though." you mumbled under your breath.

Removing his coat he placed it on the back of his chair as he pulled it out to sit in it, grinning slightly at her words. "So care to tell me what happened between you and Dolson tonight?" he asked, pouring himself a cup of whiskey. 

"No." you huffed, sinking down deeper into the hot water and wincing at the soreness in your side. 

Humming he swirled the alcohol around the glass. "Very well then I will speak to you what I have heard and then you can either fill in the empty parts or remain quiet if they are true." When she said nothing he took it as a sign to continue. "You were out playing in the snow..."

"I was sightseeing... and occasionally... playing in the snow." you corrected, mumbling the last part.

Grinning he laid his head back against the back of the chair. "Alright you were sight seeing and Dolson started bothering you but you told him off and then carried on with your exploring..." Hearing nothing he took a sip. "Later on when you went to go play cards with the rest of the crew at the bar he again came up to you and started harassing you. After telling him off you threw your dink in his face..."

"He grabbed my ass... In front of everyone!"

Ignoring her little outburst he continued on, all the while clenching his glass so hard he was sure it would soon shatter. "Then the two of you got into a fight in the bar where the few marines that were here broke the fight up and threw the both of you out of the bar." he finished. When she didn't say anything he glanced towards the closed door. "Are you hurt?" 

"No." you answered quickly, your lip bit between your teeth. 

"You are not a good liar."

Taking a deep breath you sighed and looked towards the wall. "Nothing I can't handle." Sitting still you listened and then looked down to the water. "Am I in trouble."

Hearing the worry in her voice he scratched his head with the curve of his hook. "No my dear you are not in trouble but I would like to know why you didn't come to me if he was bothering you."

Swallowing the rum you kept your eyes on the water. "I didn't want to bother you with it. I wanted to handle it on my own. The taunting and shit I can take, I grew up being bullied by the rest of the kids in the orphanage, words are one thing but I... I don't like being touched." 

"Why have you never said anything when I touch you?" he asked. He hoped she hadn't been letting him touch her simply out of fear. He had never touched her sexually but he had held her hand, touched her back and little things like that."It's not the same." you said and then closed your eyes, "You don't... you don't make it feel like ..him."  
  
Furrowing his brows he glanced towards the bathroom. "Dolson?"  
  
"No."   
  
Hearing how soft her voice was alerted him that something deeper was behind this. There were things she had told him, things from her past that never added up right in his head, like some part of a puzzle that was missing. "Y/n... what happened to you?" he asked, his voice low and deep. "Why were you on your own so young?"  
  
Swallowing thickly you pulled your knees up to your chest and hugged them. No one knew about you, you had never spoken to anyone about your life. You didn't have anyone, you had no friends, no family. Vick was the closest person you ever had and you had never even told him this part about your life. Crocodile for some reason made you feel safe, he made you feel secure. Even from the first moment he fell into your living room he had a way of putting your mind at ease. He had saved you, although he didn't know it. He knew more about you than anyone ever had, you had shared your interests, your dreams, your fears but this, telling him this could change everything and you were terrified.  
  
Hearing him call your name again in that voice that always seemed to sooth your soul you closed your eyes and licked your lips. "The orphanage I grew up in lost it's funding when I was twelve. It lasted a few months longer from the help of the community but finally we had to all be relocated. I didn't much care what happened, I was never close to any of the other kids, I didn't have any friends, I was the freak." you told him. Drawing swirly patterns on the surface of the water to keep your nerves at bay. "Well I got sent to a family that worked in the foster care system. I remember being so happy on the ride over to their house. I was finally going to have a family. God was I wrong. There was four other children there, all boys. The mom was horrible, she treated all of us like dirt, made it clear she didn't want any of us there. She made sure we knew no one wanted us, that the only reason we were there was because they got money for taking us in....I hated it there so much, the only good thing about that place was that I got my own room, something that I had never had before." Taking a deep breath you felt your heart hammering against your rib cage. "For the first few months I didn't see anything of the dad, I had heard about him, apparently him and the mom had split a week before I got there. I never knew why at the time and I knew better than to ask. One day though I walked into the living room and he was sitting there talking to her. I knew something was wrong as soon as he looked at me, I will never be able to get that out of my head."  
He had been sitting completely still in his chair throughout her story, his fingers clenching at the armrest so hard they were white. Still he remained silent, even when she had to stop he didn't say a word.   
  
"Anyway, they wanted to try and work things out so he moved back in and that's when things changed. The first thing he did was move me to the basement, said their oldest son, who was actually theirs shouldn't have to share his room. So I got put on a pull out bed down there with all the mom's sewing stuff. After that he just started doing little things, made rules that only applied to me. I could only wear dresses, that my hair had to be kept in a ponytail. When we ate dinner I had to sit beside him. Now I was young and I didn't think anything of it at first until he made another rule... he said I had to give him a goodnight kiss every night before bed. If I didn't or I forgot he'd beat me with his belt."  
  
"Didn't his wife find this strange?" he asked, the vein in his forehead popping out.   
  
"She ignored it, I don't think she wanted to admit it was happening. When he started doing more.... when he started..." shivering you closed your eyes and took a deep breath. "... touching me... I went to her. I told her what he was doing, I begged her to make him stop but she told me it was my own fault. She hit me and told me that if I wasn't such a whore he wouldn't be tempted."  
  
His blood felt like it was boiling now, his knee bouncing and his hook shaking from how angry he was getting. "Then what happened?" he asked, his voice deep.  
  
The water in the bath was cold now but you didn't want to move. "One day when she was gone and the boys were at a birthday party he came down to where my bed was and he um..." Blinking away tears you rubbed your face. "He... he tried to take things further... I kicked him and tried fighting back. He got mad and started beating me with his belt again but I wouldn't give in. Then he took my locket... it's the only thing I've ever had that was really mine. It's the only thing I have from them... from my parents. He took it and he threatened to break it, he said the if I didn't listen he would break it. I was crying and begging him not to. He tossed it to the floor and started trying to pull off my dress." Your whole body was shaking now and it felt like you couldn't get enough air. "I.. I was terrified and I kept trying to push away his hands. He pushed me into the sewing table and I heard him snap his belt again. When I looked down I saw a pair of scissors and when he went to grab me I did the only thing I could think of." Biting your lip you tasted blood in your mouth. "I stabbed him with them, I don't even know where, it happened so fast. I remember him screaming but I didn't look back, I grabbed my locket from the floor and I ran, lived on the streets until Vick helped me."  
  
Clenching his teeth he stared up at the ceiling as everything she told him sunk in. He was so angry, not at her, definitely not at her. What he wouldn't give to have that man brought before him. Not even brought to him, he'd hunt him down himself. Then when he did find him he'd torture him, slowly. Fuck he needed to kill something. He could hear the blood pumping in his ears. Standing he pulled on his coat. "I have something I have to take care of. You stay in there as long as you want.."  
  
"Croc..."  
  
"I will have Maverick bring you something to eat and something to help you rest. Afterwards you are to sleep in my bed, it's too cold for you to sleep below." He told her, grabbing his pistol from the shelf.   
  
"Crocodile wait..."  
  
"Y/n just do as I say. Everything is fine." he said before he walked out, shutting the door behind him.  
  
"...don't leave me..." you whispered as the door closed.   
  
.......................................  
  
Stomping down the wallboard he snapped his eyes to the chief. "Go make her something to eat and make her a tea to help her rest. I want you to keep watch over the ship, don't let anyone else in my chambers with her and don't let her leave." he ordered, not even giving the man time to answer before he started walking away, "You two find the rest of the crew and bring them to the shore. Bonez go get him?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
It was high time he showed the rest of the crew why one didn't cross Crocodile.

Standing on the moon lit shoreline he looked through the trees as the rest of the crew started filing in. He could see as they all looked around to one another, wondering why they had been brought here but he didn't say a word. When he heard a muffled noise he looked over to see Bonez dragging Dolson towards him. When the man was thrown to his feet he looked down and saw he had four scratches on his cheek, most likely from y/n.   
  
"What the fuck is this about?!" Dolson yelled, going to stand. Getting to his feet he looked in front of him to see the captain looking down his nose at him, his hair slightly disheveled from the wind and a cigar bit between his teeth.   
  
"I do not believe I stuttered when I said that y/n was not to be harmed." he said, keeping his voice void of emotion.   
  
"Oh I see, little bitch went whining back to her master." Dolson huffed.   
  
His lip twitched but he kept his face void of emotion, well that was until the man's next words.   
  
"You know I didn't realize the world known Crocodile would be so pussy whipped."   
  
Seeing the rest of the men looking to one another he growled and pulled the trigger on his pistol, shooting the man in the knee and hearing him scream as he fell.   
  
Panting for breath, his hands shook as he pushed himself into a standing position. Chuckling out he balanced on one leg and looked back up at the man.  
  
"Damn, that little whore got you wrapped around her finger good, pity I didn't get to see how skilled that mouth was myself."   
  
In an instant he had his hand wrapped around the man's throat and was lifting him from the ground. "I gave you an order and you disobeyed me...."  
  
"I just pointed out your weakness!"  
  
Squeezing he used his devil powers to drain the man dry. By the time he was done only a pile of dust fell from his clothing to the snow. Looking up to see everyone watching him, some with wide eyes other in acceptance he raised his chin. "Anyone else?" he asked in a deep voice. "When no one spoke he huffed out. "Everyone ready the ship, we are leaving tonight." Without another word they all hurried from the scene and towards the ship. Seeing Bonez standing there he looked to him. "There were some that were close to him, we will need to keep an eye on them. They may try to force Dolson's words into the rest of the crew's mind." Daz said in a calm voice, his arms crossed over his chest.   
  
Grunting he handed over his pistol and pushed back his hair. "Then they will met the same fate."   
  
"Yes sir." was all he said before he turned towards the ship and started walking away leaving the Captain to his thoughts.   
  
Standing there all alone he looked down to the pile of ashes by his feet and scoffed, his weakness. He wasn't weak and he didn't have any weaknesses. Y/n didn't mean anything to him, he had killed the man for disobeying an order, nothing more. He was repaying a debt that was it. She had helped him, he was helping her. Biting down on his cigar he stepped into the man's remains as he walked back to his ship.   
  
.....................................  
  
Hearing the door open and close you looked to the door to see Crocodile come in. He didn't look at you as he removed his coat, hanging it on the back of his chair. He looked tense, his shoulders squared off and his brows dipped low. Sitting up in his bed you held the thick duvet tightly around you and furrowed your brows. "Croc..."  
  
"We are leaving the island, the temperature will rise soon. Go to your own bed." he said, refusing to look up at her and focusing his attention on placing up his pistol and removing his hook.   
  
Hearing how cold his voice was you snapped your eyes down and slowly got out of his bed. Going to pull his blankets back up to make the bed back you heard him speak again.   
  
"Leave it and go."   
  
Curling inward you gently placed the blanket back down and pulled your hands to your chest. Walking to the door you took one last glance up at the huge man, feeling an ache in your heart when he wouldn't even look at you. "Goodnight Crocodile." you whispered. Hurrying down to your room you closed the door behind you and locked it. Crawling into your cold, hard bed you pulled the thin blanket over your body and curled up. Looking up at the window you saw the stars and felt tears prickle the corner of your eyes. You shouldn't have told him the truth.  
  
...........................................  
  
Washing the dishes from dinner you stared down at the dirty water and as you worked in silence. Everyone had already eaten and brought their plates over for you, well everyone except for the captain who had eaten in his room again. You hadn't seen him since the other night and you were sure he had been avoiding you. It was a mistake telling him about your past, everything had seemed fine before that but now he didn't want to even look at you. Scrubbing the last dish you rinsed them and dried them before putting them up.   
  
"Ya sure ya don't want nothin' ta eat lass?" Maverick asked.  
  
Looking up to the man you forced a small grin. "No I'm good. Thank you though." you told him before leaving the kitchen and heading to your room. Opening the door you went to close it when you heard someone call your name. Looking up you saw it was Bonez. "Oh... hello Bonez." you said in a soft voice.   
  
"Would you still like to learn how to sail?" he asked the small woman.  
  
Looking up at him you saw he was serious and nodded. Crocodile had said he would show you but he hadn't had the chance but you would take what you could get. Besides if you could learn how to do deck work then you would be of more use to him. Following the muscled man to the deck you saw most of the other had called it a night, the two of you the only one left on the deck other than Ori who was sitting up in the crow's nest keeping watch. Glancing towards Crocodile's chambers you saw a light on through the windows of the door and looked down.   
  
"I will start by showing you all the ropes and pulleys and explaining what they do..."   
  
Hearing voices outside on the deck he furrowed his brows when he realized it was Bonez, the man normally didn't talk very much. Getting up he walked to the door and opened it a small amount to look out across the deck. Seeing Daz standing by the shrouds he furrowed his brows and then noticed a small figure behind him and stiffened when he saw it was y/n. She was listening intently to what the man had to say, watching as he pointed up to the sails and then down to the ropes. Was he teaching her how to work the deck? He had told her he would show her but he hadn't made the effort to do so yet. Looking back up to her face he saw her nod to whatever Bonez had just told her before she said something in return.   
  
Letting his eyes scan over her he saw her shoulders dropped down and her arms wrapped around her. She had braided her hair and it was laying over her shoulder with little pieces falling out and blowing around her face. Looking at her face he frowned slightly, she looked tired, her lips not pulled upwards in the normal soft smile he was accustomed to seeing her wear. Biting down on his cigar he closed the door, no it didn't matter if she wasn't smiling. Walking back to his desk he flopped down in his chair and poured himself a large glass of rum. Stop thinking about her, he growled to himself. Picking up the book he tried to pick up where he had left off. For the past few days he had been avoiding her at all cost, thinking if he wasn't around her these feelings would go away. No not feelings. He didn't have feelings for her. It was some kind of mixture of gratitude and lust, nothing more. Tomorrow would make two weeks she had been here so if he was lucky she would just go back to her own world and then he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. Thinking about her being gone made his chest throb though. Growling he tossed down the book and downed his glass before grabbing the bottle and walking to his bathroom. Maybe a long bath would help ease his nerves.   
  
.................................  
  
Not being able to sleep again tonight you grabbed your sketch pad and quietly made your way onto the deck. It was dead quiet out and looking up you saw Bonez in the crows nest. The man gave you a small glance and nod before looking back out to the sea, doing something else you couldn't see from here. Walking to the very front of the ship you sat down on the floor and crossed your legs under you. Flipping open your sketch book to the drawing you had been working on you let out a sigh and started adding in shadows and highlights while you thought back on the day.   
  
_Feeling the rope slip between your hands you hissed out as it burned your palms and fingers. Before you had a chance to look at them a deep and cold voice cut through the air._  
  
 _"Why isn't that line tied down?" Crocodile yelled, looking over the crew for an answer. When none of them answered he narrowed his eyes and looked through the crowd until they stepped aside, revealing y/n standing by the rigging._  
  
 _Feeling his eyes on you you looked up and watched him make his way over to you. Opening your mouth to speak he cut you off._  
  
 _"What the hell are you doing?" he growled._  
  
 _Furrowing your brows at the hard look in his eyes you licked your lips, "I..I'm sorry it slipped when I..."_  
  
 _Feeling the rest of the crew's eyes on them he grit his teeth. "I don't want your damn excuses woman. Are you so pathetic you can not tie down one rope?!"_  
  
 _Gasping a little at the way he was speaking to you you looked down, feeling tiny under his formidable glare. "I'm sorry." you whispered. Going to grab the rope again you froze when he grabbed your wrist in a tight hold, snatching you towards him._  
  
 _Seeing the rope burn on her hand he grit his teeth a mix of emotions running through him. She was hurt, a layer of skin rubbed away. A part of him wanted to lift her into his arms and carry her to his room so he could treat the wounds but he knew he couldn't. He couldn't show weakness and it only angered him more. Seeing everyone still watching he bit down on his cigar and shoved her away from him, making her fall to her bottom on the deck. Refusing to look down at her he turned away, "Go back to your room."_  
  
 _"Croco..."_  
  
 _Growling he snapped his eyes back down to her "NOW! Or I will toss you to the sea kings." he yelled. The look on her face, shock and fear, it was one he had seen many times from others. HE had always enjoyed the power he had over others, the way even his presence could make a grown man tremble in terror. It was a look he took pride in, that was until he saw it on her face. She said not a word, her eyes dropping to the ground._  
  
 _Standing you ignored the pain in your hands. Mumbling a soft apology to him you turned and walked through the men to the stairs. Getting down to your room you curled up in bed and felt tears roll across the bridge of your nose._   
  
A strong pressure had resided in your chest ever since then. You hadn't come down for supper and thankfully no one had bothered you. Glancing to the Captain's quarters you saw the light still on and bit your lip. Dropping your eyes back to your drawing you rubbed your finger over the shadow underneath the hourglass. Tilting your head you moved to the top of the page and started drawing in the moon and clouds. Furrowing your brows you dropped your hand some and added in an oddly shaped star. Blinking you looked over the eight pointed star and felt a strange feeling in your chest.   
  
"Don't you ever sleep?"   
  
Flinching you dropped your pencil and looked up to see Crocodile standing above you. He wore a pair of lounge pants and his coat, no shirt or boots. A cigar hung lazily from his lips and his lidded eyes looked down on you in a way that made you feel small. "I couldn't sleep." you answered softly. Looking down you flipped your book closed and crawled after your pencil as it started rolling away.   
  
Seeing her pencil rolling away he placed his foot on it to stop it and bent down to grab it before standing back up. Looking it over he saw it was actually a charcoal pencil, a very short charcoal pencil.   
  
Licking your lips you grabbed your book and stood. Looking up his silk clad legs you saw him hold out your pencil and reached out for it, your eyes still not rising to his. Placing your fingers on the pencil something caught your eye. Looking to his left hip you saw a familiar shape in black ink. "I didn't know you had a tattoo." you said in a soft voice.   
  
Freezing he saw her eyes looking at his soulmate mark and snapped his own eyes to her. "Yes... ah..." don't do it... "Do you?" he asked before he could stop himself. A small hint of hope filled him but when she shook her head he felt it quickly disappear, a cold emptiness taking it's place.   
  
Shaking your head you looked up at him, happy the two of you were speaking again. " No I don't have any tattoos but I..."  
  
"Go to bed y/n." he said, interrupting her and turning to quickly make his way back to his own chambers.   
  
The small smile that had started to form on your face instantly fell as you watched him walk away from you. Curling up you pulled your sketchbook to your chest and looked down as you did as he said and went below deck but knew no sleep would come to you tonight.   
  
....................................  
  
Finishing up the last piece you bit your lip and looked down at your hard work. Sure it wasn't a real chess board but you thought you had done a pretty good job of drawing out each piece onto the rocks you had found. You had even drawn a board onto a slice of log you had convinced Bonez to cut for you. Satisfied you dropped the rocks into baggie and stuck the log under your arm before heading to Crocodile's room. Hearing the rest of the crew in the kitchen you bit your lip nervously as you made your way up the stairs to the door, holding on tighter to the railing as the wind blew. Standing in front of the door you closed your eyes and took a deep breath before raising your hand to knock.   
  
"What is it?"   
  
Hearing his deep voice you grabbed the knob and turned it, pushing it open slowly and looking inside to see him lounging on his bed, reading. He had his left arm thrown behind his head, his hook resting on his bedside table. His feet were crossed and a cigar was pinched between his lips. He looked relaxed to you, that was until he looked up and saw you standing there.   
  
It was her, what was she doing here? Swallowing hard he dropped his eyes back to his book, "Go away y/n. I'm busy..."  
  
"Wait.. I... I made you something." you said quickly. When his eyes looked back up to you, a bored expression on his face you licked your lips and stepped inside his room, setting the 'board' down on the desk and dumping out the little rocks to start setting them up.   
  
Sighing he got up form his bed and walked over to her. "What is this?" he asked, looking down at the junk she was putting on his desk.   
  
Taking a deep breath you set up the pieces and then looked up to him, a hopeful grin on your face. "I made a chessboard." you told him. Noticing him looking at it with a blank expression you grinned sheepishly and rubbed your arm. "I thought we could play."   
  
Looking between her and the makeshift board he felt that warming in his chest and grit his teeth. "No. Go ask someone..."  
  
"I don't want to play with anyone else." you said quickly cutting him off. When he still tried brushing you off you furrowed your brows. "What did I do wrong?"  
  
"Leave y/n..."  
  
"NO!" you yelled, loosing your temper and making his eyes snap back to you. "Why have you been ignoring me? If I did something wrong tell me so I can apologize or make it right. If it's about what I told you the other night I'm sorry I didn't mean to make things awkward. I only told you because you asked and you are my friend so I..."  
  
"Wait..." he said, looking to her in shock. "Friend? You think I am your friend?" he asked. When he saw her look to him with in confusion he chuckled and then he started to laugh.   
  
He was laughing, why was he laughing? It didn't sound like the laugh you had heard before. Slowly you started curling into yourself.  
  
"...aha! You stupid girl. Do you honestly think I would be friends with someone as pathetic as you?!" he said with a smile on his face. When she didn't answer he shook his head. "I wasn't helping you because I wanted us to be friends. I helped you simply because you helped me. I was paying off a debt. A debt I will add that has been repaid fully. Two weeks I was with you in your world and as of yesterday it has been two weeks here as well. We are even now, there is no reason for me to be burdened by you any further." Her eyes stayed down, looking at the 'chessboard' on his desk. Feeling a sharp pain in his chest he felt his lip twitch into a snarl. Grunting he walked back to it and placed his finger on the wood, using his powers to drain all the moisture out of wood. When the rocks and dust fell to the desk top he grit his teeth around his cigar. "Unless you want to end up the same I suggest you get out of my sight." he told her in a deep voice.   
  
Staring at his hand you felt the knot in your throat becoming harder to hold in. Dropping your eyes to the dark wood floor you slowly walked from the room. Grabbing the knob with shaking fingers you opened it and stepped out, refusing to look at him, knowing it would only cause you more pain. Shutting the door softly behind you you felt your feet carry you down to your room. Getting inside you trembled and lifted your head, feeling tears finally drop from your eyes and roll down your cheeks. Grabbing your bag you unzipped it and packed your sketch book and pencil. Opening your drawer to take the hygiene products he had bought you but leaving the clothes and book he had bought you in a neat pile on top of the dresser. Swallowing thickly you closed your eyes, grabbing your Sketchbook you ripped out a piece of paper and sat down on your bed... well not yours anymore.   
  
After writing your goodbye letter you waited until everyone went to bed before you quietly left the room you had been using. Making your way out onto the deck you glanced over to Crocodile's chambers and saw the light out. Next you looked up to the crow's nest and saw one of the crew members up there, from the looks of it he was sleeping. Taking a deep breath you hurried over to one of the little boats. Doing the ropes you bit your lip and muffled a whimper as it hit your still burnt palms from the other day. Managing to lower it down you climbed down the ropes and cut them loose.   
  
With the strong wind it took no time before the ship was far from you. Watching it get further and further away you tried swallowing down the sob but the ache in your heart was becoming unbearable. You had been so stupid. Of course he didn't want to be your friend and he damn sure wouldn't want anything else with you. He was one of the seven warlords of the sea, he was far out of your league. He didn't want you, no one did. Looking out at the open sea and then up to the stars you felt the tears fall from your eyes like rivers. Pulling your knees up to your chest you held your face in your hands. Never feeling more alone than you did right now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long Chapter I know but what do we think? There has to be angst.


	8. Chapter 8

Laying in bed he stared up at the ceiling, watching the smoke from his cigar swirl around into the air before it disappeared. Blinking slowly he let out a heavy sigh as the sharp, clenching in his chest continued. This uneasiness hadn't stopped since he had yelled at y/n the night before last. The image of her walking from his room with her head hung low and her shoulders curled in on her worked on his conscious. He told himself repetitively that it was nothing, that he had done the right thing but somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that was a lie. He felt.... guilty and that made him all the more angry. Having enough of being stuck in his room he headed out onto the deck. Some of the crew were sitting about, some of them were working or cleaning. There wasn't much to do until they got to the next island, unless they came across a cargo ship, which looking around he didn't see anything.

Walking to the railing he tapped his fingers on the wood and took in a deep breath of the sea air. Glancing down to the side of the ship he saw a small circle window, the window to her room. It was closed, he couldn't remember a time when she closed it, other that when it was raining. His brow twitched when he felt a tugging of sorts but it was quickly pushed aside when he heard his name being called. Looking back he saw Bonez walking towards him, Maverick right behind him. "What is it?"

"Well Cap'n thought ya should know that the food supplies are runnin' low." Maverick said.

Knitting his brows he looked down at the man, "How is that possible? Did you not restock when we were last docked?" he asked in a deep voice.

"Aye I did but it seems someone is takin' more than their fair share." The old chief said. 

"Thought I heard someone in the pantry the other night but when I got in there to go check it was empty." Bonez added, looking to Crocodile with his arms over his chest. 

Growling he scanned his eyes over the crew. "I want the pantry locked, Maverick will keep the key. Until we get to the next island I want portions cut in half."

"What about the lass?" Maverick asked.

"What about her?" he grunted, keeping any sort of emotion off his face.

"Well she don't eat as it is so I don't think cuttin' er' portion would be healthy. She ain't been up ta eat in two days." He told him. 

Feeling his brow twitched he cleared his throat and looked to Daz. "Go tell her to eat, tell her it's an order." Seeing the man nod and head towards the stairs he looked to the cook, "Make her something and make sure she eats it." was all he said before he headed back to his room. Closing the door he walked over to his desk and saw the small rocks still sitting in a pile of dust. Lifting one up he examined the drawing of the king she had made and felt his cigar lower when he noticed it was him. His iconic scar and brushed back hair telling him as much. Picking up the other king he saw it was that damn straw-hat..."Smart-ass." he huffed. Sitting down he looked over each piece, taking notice of how each piece had something drawn on it. The straw-hat crew were drawn on the other pieces. His own side had Daz as the bishops, Clay as the knights and what looked like Hex as the Castles. The pawns were simply just regular pawns but the last piece was that of the queen. Reaching forward he grabbed it and flipped it over to see a 'Q'. Frowning he dropped it back down and moved his hand to rub his face. Hearing a knock on the door he grunted.

"Sir, y/n didn't answer the door." Daz told him. 

Lifting his face form his hand he looked towards the male with knitted brows. "What do you mean she didn't answer the door?" 

"I knocked and called for her but she never opened the door. It's locked as well." 

Standing he walked form the room and towards the stairs. Getting to her door he raised his hook and knocked three times rather hard. "Y/n. Y/n open the door." he said in a deep voice. When he didn't hear any movement from inside he felt a sense that something was wrong and turned to sand before quickly going under the door. Reforming he looked to the bed to see it empty, the blankets folded into a pile on the end. Snapping his eyes to the dresser he saw the pile of clothes he had got her sitting there along with the book he had bought her. Spinning around the small room he looked all over but didn't see any sign of her, her book bag and personal items gone as well. His heart was hammering in his chest and he was about to grab the handle when something caught his eye. Stepping over to the dresser he saw a folded piece of paper with his name written on it laying there beside her phone and the solar charging device. Lifting it up he flipped it open and read, 

  
_Crocodile,_  
 _You were right, your debt is paid. I am so sorry for burdening you, it was never my intention.  
_ _Thank you for everything you did for me and everything you endured. As for my foolish  
assumption that we were friends I also apologize. I hope you can forgive me. _  
_I left the clothes and book you bought for me to use, perhaps you can sell them and get your money back.  
I have to borrow one of your boats since we are not docked. I didn't want to bother you any longer so hopefully you will understand. _  
_The phone is for you, you seemed to enjoy listening to the music and so I hope it can help you  
focus or simply relax when you need it. The charger is there as well, just plug it into the bottom and set it  
in the sunlight when the battery is running low. It normally takes a good seven hours to fully charge. _  
_Thank you for showing me what happiness feels like, I will surly never forget you or our time together.  
Again I am sorry for burdening you. I hope all of your dreams come true. Please stay safe. _  
_Y/n._

  
He hadn't taken a breath the whole time he had read her letter and when he had finished it the inhale he took was shaky. She was gone. She had left. And it was... it was his fault. That's what he wanted though right? Pushing her letter and phone into his pocket he numbly walked to the door and opened it. Seeing Daz standing there with knitted brows he let out a deep breath. "No one goes in there." he said and saw the man nod stiffly. "Go see if one of the lifeboats are missing." 

Going to his room he closed the door and slowly walked over to the chair, plopping down in it and looking over the room. She was gone. She had just left in the middle of the night without a word. Not that he blamed her. Even in her letter she remained as kind as ever. She had apologized for burdening him... for assuming they were... Rubbing his face he closed his eyes as his heart seemed to drop to his stomach. Bouncing his knee he poured himself a large glass of rum, downing it in one gulp before refiling the glass and sitting back in his chair. Hearing a knock he blinked slowly, "Enter." 

Looking over to the captain he saw a look on his face he had never seen before. "One of the boats are missing." he informed him and saw him nod slowly. "She left." Again a slow nod. 

Waving his finger he heard the man leave him to his own. He had never felt guilt before, he had never regretted anything he had done and he had done some horrible things but this, this felt like it was eating him from the inside out. He didn't know how long he had sat there, lost in thought but when he felt the need to relieve his bladder it was dark out and storming. Lighting the candle on his desk he stood and walked to the bathroom. Once he was finished he started to remove his clothes, dropping his eyes down he froze when he glanced to his left hip. Furrowing his brows he moved his fingers to brush over the now gray mark. Rubbing his thumb over it he expected something to be on his skin and for the mark to go back to it's normal dark black color but it didn't. Turning his front back towards the candle light to see it better he continued rubbing it until a voice made him flinch. 

"It is fading dear boy." 

Snapping his eyes up he saw the old witch sitting in his chair looking towards him with her bloody bandaged eyes. "You... how are you..." Looking back down to the mark he frowned. "What do you mean it's fading?" 

"It is only natural. You dismissed your soulmate so you no longer need your binding mark." she said, folding her hands in her lap. "Do not worry it will disappear completely within the week and you will no longer be tied to her."

Knitting his brows he looked up to the witch. "Her? I haven't even met my soulmate?"

Standing abruptly she sent the man flying backwards into the wall, knocking him to the ground so she could be eye level with him. "I knew you were stubborn but I didn't know you stupid as well! I drop you right in front of her and you still can't see what's right in front of you?!" she scolded, poking him in the middle of his forehead. 

Gritting his teeth he went to use his powers but he couldn't move. Panting he looked to the old woman, "Y/n isn't my soulmate! She doesn't even have a soul binding mark!" 

"I can assure you she does because I am the one that painted it on her skin the day she was born, the same as I did you boy." 

"She said she didn't have a tattoo... She isn't even from this world..." he said, his heart beating against his rib-cage. 

"Wrong both times." the old woman smiled, waving her finger and dragging the chair across the floor until she could sit in it and look down on him. "Now I normally don't do this but you two are just about the most difficult souls I have ever seen and I have been around since the beginning of time." she huffed. Crossing one leg over the other she looked down at the boy. "Firstly I will tell you that her mark is over her breastbone and that if you had waited just a few more seconds the other night she would have told you about the strange birthmark she has.

Opening his mouth to speak he saw her flick her finger and his jaw snapped shut on it's own. 

"I am not finished." taking a deep breath she sat back. "As for your other accusation I will tell you that she is in fact from this world." 

Furrowing his brows he saw the woman snap her old fingers and then there was another woman in the room, this one not as terrifying looking but still hideous. They wore similar gowns but this new woman had a glowing ball in her hand as she approached him. 

"We are not supposed to intervene Lachesis..."

"Oh hush Clotho, I want to see their story play out." 

Sighing she walked over to the man sitting on the floor and crouched down in front of him. 

Looking down at the glowing gold ball in her hands he realized it was actually a ball of yarn, glowing yarn. Pursing his lips he watched the woman pick through the ball until she got to just about the end of the string and lifted it up. 

"Here it is..." Clotho said in a sigh. Lifting the string she brought it up to his face and saw him lean his head back. "Relax and see." 

As soon as the woman touched the string to his temple he stiffened and everything went black. When he could see again he saw a man and woman running down a hall lined with mirrors of different shapes and sizes. Looking to each mirror he saw different places and people in them. Hearing a loud scream he looked back to see the couple running towards him, the woman was carrying something in her arms, a woven basket. There was a soft and muffled crying coming from the basket and he furrowed his brows. 

"She is going to find us soon Vincent...shhh don't cry sweetheart, it's okay..." the woman said as she stopped and took out the baby in the basket, cuddling her to her chest and attempting to stop her crying. 

  
Walking closer to the woman as the man looked down one hall and then the other he tilted his head and stood over her some as she pulled back the baby some. Staring down at the small babe he saw the same sea blue eyes as y/n's look up at him. Dropping his eyes to the gown she was wearing he saw the neckline of it drooping down some, a black mark peeking out at him. Reaching out to move the gown the rest of the way away he saw his fingers pass right through her. 

"You can not touch, only watch." 

Looking behind him he saw the old woman from before standing there. Hearing a loud yell he turned back to see a explosion of broken mirrors fly from down one hall, the baby's screaming starting up again. 

"VINCENT! YOU CAN NOT RUN FROM ME! YOU WILL NOT DISOBEY ME!" a loud, female voice yelled.

Seeing the couple start running again he watched with wide eyes as Big Mom ran down the hall towards them. 

"You will not harm my daughter, mother!" the man yelled. 

"That child is an abomination! She should have never been conceived!" Big Mom yelled, drool dripping from her mouth. 

Watching the man raise his hand and make a wall of sand he felt his breath catch in his throat... that.... that wasn't possible. Well technically it was, he and y/n were sixteen years apart and he hadn't ate his devil fruit until he was eighteen. Her father was the previous user of the suna suna no mi fruit. The couple were quick to run down another hallway while she was distracted. Getting to a dead end he furrowed his brows and watched as the woman held the crying y/n to her chest, tears falling from her eyes. 

"Vincent. What are we going to do?" she asked looking to her husband. 

Looking around he saw a mirror reflected the open sea, sharing a look with his wife he saw her start crying more. 

"No. No please there has to be another way..."

"There isn't Anna. This is it, this is her only chance. Brulee said this was the one, she said this would send her right to him." Vincent said, taking his daughter and wrapping her in a blanket before placing her back into her basket. 

"But we don't even know him Vin... what if he doesn't want her, what if he doesn't find her..."

"He is her soulmate Anna, he will take care of her." Taking a letter out of his pocket he placed it in the basket with the baby and stroked her face. "I pray you may one day forgive us little one. I love you so very much." he said in a low, deep voice before he bent down to kiss her forehead. Feeling the ground shake he stood back straight and held out the basket to his wife. Looking into her eyes he swallowed hard and felt a tear fall from his eye. Cupping her cheek he bent down to kiss her one last time. "I am sorry my love."

"I'm not." she said in a soft voice. "I love you Vincent." 

"And I love you." Closing his eyes he kissed her forehead and stepped back, pulling out his sword and taking one last glance at his wife and child before running towards the monster who was his mother. 

Watching the woman sob he felt a clenching in his chest. She held the basket with one arm while the other removed a golden locket from her neck, the locket y/n wore. 

Gently placing the locket around her daughter's neck she sniffled and bit her trembling lip. "This will guide you to him sweetheart, to Crocodile..."

Gasping he swallowed hard and moved to look down at the tiny babe. She was blinking and looking up at her mother before she looked into his own eyes, like she could see him. 

"...We love you... we both love you so much y/n... Please know that..." She sobbed.

"STOP RIGHT THERE YOU WHORE!" 

Snapping his eyes to the end of the hall he saw Big Mom running towards them and then quickly looked back to the woman and y/n, his breathing picking up speed. 

Quickly cradling her daughter she ran tot he mirror and kissed her cheek before pushing her into the mirror just as a blade was pushed through her chest.

The woman let out a broken scream as Big Mom stabbed her through the chest. Looking to the mirror he saw the basket floating on the water's surface. 

"P..please.. please take ca..re of... her..." The woman struggled to say before her fingers grasped the frame of the mirror and snatched it from the wall, shattering it. 

"NOOO!" Big Mom yelled. 

Watching the emperor rip the sword from the woman's chest and hold it up high above her head he furrowed his brows as she brought it down.

...................................

Looking back around he saw he was back in his chambers, the witch still sitting in his chair looking down at him. Breathing heavily he looked up at her and knit his brows, "They were trying to send her to me... that mirror was supposed to link to me..." 

"Brulee, Vincent's sister had been tricked into helping them but she told them the wrong mirror on purpose, unbeknownst to them. The plan had been to send her to you, you were meant to find her the night you set sail from your home island." Holding out a crystal ball she saw him look down to the image of what could have been.

Looking into the ball he saw himself, a very young version of himself. He looked to be standing on the deck of a ship. Watching the younger him look down he followed his eyes and saw a little girl standing beside him. Her hair was red and her eyes the same color blue as the sea. The little girl was holding onto his hook and he saw her give him a soft smile that he returned before he lifted her up and held her close, her head dropping to lay on his shoulder and her tiny fingers moving to play with his hair. 

When the moving picture faded away he let out a deep breath and then dropped his eyes to his lap. None of this felt real. One part of him wished it wasn't. He had a soulmate. For so long he had searched for his destined one but he had never found her. After forty four years he had given up hope but now... now he knew he did have someone. That someone was her, it was y/n. He should have known, all those strong feelings he had around her. He had never felt anything for anyone until she had shown up. She made him laugh, she made him smile. He felt alive, he felt happy or he had. "What have I done?" 

"Is that a rhetorical question or would you like me to explain that as well?" Lachesis asked. 

Ignoring the witch's snarky remark he thought back on the last few days, recalling how cruel he had been to his soulmate. He had kicked her out of his room, right after she had told him about a traumatic event from her life as well. She even apologized for telling him, thinking she had made things awkward by entrusting him to something no one else knew about her. Then he had ignored her, yelled at her, belittled her. He had threatened to feed her to the sea kings, he had threatened to kill her. She had never said a ill word to him, she had always been so kind to him. Looking up at the witch he knit his brows, "Why did you wait so long to bring us together?" he asked. 

Sighing she folded her hands. "I could not find her, she was in a world far from my reach of sight. It was only when my sister, Atropos, was about to do her part that we were given knowledge of where she was...."

"Her part... what part?"

"Death." 

"Death?"

Nodding she gave a sad smile. "I sent you to her that night because that was the night she had planned to take her own life." 

She was going to... but she didn't. He had been there, is that why she had said he had done more for her than he knew? But now he wasn't there and she was alone again, in a world she didn't know. She had no money, no provisions, no one to protect her...not even from herself.

Tilting her head she watched the man mewl over his wrongdoings. "Well what are you going to do now?" she asked. 

Taking a deep breath he looked up to the eyeless woman. "I don't know." he answered honestly. 

Humming she lifted her chin, "Tell me Crocodile, will you give up on this dream as well?" 

Blinking in thought he licked his lips, "I don't know if I deserve her." he answered, `after everything he had done to her, did he deserve a second chance. He wouldn't give himself one... he would have killed someone for doing that to him. 

"Shouldn't that be for her to decide?" 

Dropping his head he felt the invisible bindings release him. Standing he walked over to the map on his desk. The wind had been blowing west that night , if she had drifted with the currents and then she had to be at one of the islands to north west. Realizing he had been thinking out loud he turned to where the witch had been siting, "Can't you just tell me where..." She wasn't there. Of course.

Taking long steps over to his door he threw it open and walked down the the stairs. "GET UP! WE ARE CHANGING COURSE!" he yelled and heard thumping and movement as they were woken from their sleep. Going to the wheel he saw the Hex take a step back as he neared. Grabbing the wheel he gave it a hard turn and felt the ship tilt, the crew bellow yelling out. Looking out at the water in front of them he clenched his jaw, "I am coming starlight."


	9. Chapter 9

THUMP!

Snapping your eyes open you looked in front of you and saw the wood siding of the boat. Blinking a few times you forced your tired body up into a sitting position, wincing a little at the soreness of your body. It was still dark out but you could make out the light from the coming sunrise. Looking around you saw nothing but the endless sea until you looked behind you and saw what your little boat had bumped into. Swallowing even though there was little to no moisture in your mouth you looked at the lone man with yellow eyes. "Hello." you said in a soft voice, hoarse from having nothing to drink for the past day and a half. When he said nothing you looked down to see your boat still touching his slightly bigger one. "I'm sorry." you mumbled. Grabbing the little oar you went to row away from him. 

"Not very wise for you to be out here on your own with no provisions." Mihawk said in a plain voice. When her eyes stayed down he looked her over. She was already showing signs of dehydration, she wouldn't last another day out here. "Where are you headed?" he asked the woman.

Looking back up at the warlord you took a small breath. "Anywhere I suppose." 

Humming he reached beside him and grabbed one of his many flasks of water before holding it out for her. 

Looking down at the flask you furrowed your brows and looked back up at him. "I don't have anything to give you in return." you said, shaking your head. 

"Your name will do." 

Seeing he was serious you licked your lips, "Y/n." 

"Well then Miss y/n, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Dracula Mihawk." he said with a bow of his head. 

Forcing yourself to grin you bowed your head back and took the water when he pushed it towards you, "Thank you." you said before taking a long sip, feeling it burn your dry throat slightly. Sighing you looked down at your lap, taking another sip before putting the cork back in the top and handing it back to him. 

"No you keep it, you will need it. he told her. 

"Thank you." 

Humming he nodded and then looked to the left. "If you keep heading that way you will reach an island by the end of the day. It isn't the best place but it's somewhere." he told her. 

Nodding you looked to where he was looking and then back to him just in time to see him toss you an apple. Catching it you looked back up to him and saw him give you a blank look. "Thank you." With a nod the man was gone. Biting down on the apple you chewed it slowly, you should be relishing the first food you had had in days but it was tasteless in your mouth. Letting out a sigh you looked towards the direction Mihawk had told you an island was in. You knew from the manga that Grand line formidable place, in actuality you were lucky to still be alive right as it is. Last night had been a rough night, a thunderstorm had struck suddenly and you had curled up in the bottom of the boat to shield yourself from the needle like rain and the sharp lightning. At one point you had been sure your small boat would flip over and dump you to the sea kings but you had managed to stay afloat. Finishing you apple you bit your lip and unzipped your bag to pull out your sketchbook. Ripping a page out you placed the seeds in the middle before folding it up and pouring a small amount of water on it to dampen it. Placing it one of the smaller pockets in your bag you put your sketch book back up and grabbed the oar. You didn't really know what you were going to do but you knew you needed to get to land soon. 

................................

It was late when you got to the island and the sun was going down. Your arms were sore and you were extremely tired. Forcing yourself to pull the boat onto the sandy shore you breathed heavily and finally dropped back to sit in the sand. Leaning against the boat you stayed there for a moment and let your eyes slip closed. You were close to drifting off when you felt the patter of rain start hitting your back and shoulders. Blinking your eyes open you looked up at the sky and saw a flash of lightning. Standing up and grabbing the boat again you tugged it further up onto shore almost to the rocks and then struggled to flip it over. Dropping to your knees you started digging away the sand and dirt to make a tunnel big enough for you to crawl under it. Wiggling your way under the boat you felt around for a few big rocks and placed them over the 'door' till only a small air hole was left. Grabbing your bag you moved it to the front and laid down, placing your head on it and curling up on the cold ground. The rain was now beating against the boat so loud it sounded like hail and you bit your lip as the lightning and thunder boomed outside. A rumble of the earth and a close strike made you whimper and tense more if it were possible. Feeling a tear roll over the bridge of your nose you closed your eyes and tried to imagine you were at home, in your own bed. Not even that seemed comforting anymore through. You didn't want to go back to your empty house with only memories to keep you company. You knew what you wanted but it would never be a reality. With a broken heart you finally drifted off into a dreamless sleep. 

.................................

Waking up the next day you stared at the tiny bit of sunlight coming in from the little hole you had left. You were still tired, your body running on fumes. The clenching of your empty stomach told you you needed food even though you didn't particularly care to eat. Sighing you dug the hole back out and pushed out your bag before crawling out yourself. Blinking as your eyes adjusted to the light you looked around at the island you had washed up on and saw it was a very rocky landscape. There were trees and grass as well but a lot of rocks. Glancing back down to your boat you decided to leave it there, might need to use it as shelter again tonight. Attempting to stretch out the stiffness in your body you let out a heavy breath and grabbed your bag. Unzipping it you took the water out and finished the last sip off. That was definitely your first thing to do. Tossing the empty flask back in your bag you zipped it up and put it on your back. 

Exploring the island you were able to find a source of freshwater and drunk a fair amount before filling up your flask and putting it in your bag for later. Unfortunately you weren't able to find any food, not even any berries or fruit but lucky for you you had watched tons of survival documentaries. Grabbing stuff to make a fire you took it back to where your boat was, dragging the boat all the way up to the rocks to set up your camp. Sitting down on the ground you grabbed your pocket knife and the long stick you had found to make a spear out of. Sharpening the tip and cutting small notches in the first foot of it you nodded, "Thank you Les Stroud." you mumbled before taking off your jacket, shirt, shoes and socks. Rolling up your pants legs you grabbed your stick and walked out to the water. Jumping across the rocks you looked down and saw a few fish swimming around in the water below. Taking a deep breath you aimed the spear before stabbing it into the water. 

So catching a fish is a whole lot harder than it looks. After three hours you hand managed to catch one lousy fish that was only the size of your hand, but it was something. Cooking it over the small fire you made you looked out over the sea and felt a clenching in your heart. You wondered if he missed you. No he didn't want you there to begin with. Swallowing hard you dropped your eyes down, taking the last bite of the fish. Looking down your shirt you saw your locket laying over top of your birthmark and lifted it in your hand before opening it. Looking over the picture of the man and woman you felt tears brim your eyes. Reading the words you licked your lips, "My heart will guide me huh? To what?" you asked the air. Watching the arrow spin around before finally pointing out in front of you you huffed and snapped it shut. "Yeah that's what I thought." 

By the end of the day you had a nice fire going and had bathed to the best of your ability. You had seen a small village on the other side of the island but it looked very rundown and sketchy so you decided to possibly check it out tomorrow when there was more light. Yawning you crawled under the boat to sleep, having dug a nice tunnel earlier. Curling up you breathed out deeply and closed your eyes. 

................................

People were starring at you. This place didn't feel safe. You didn't see any children running around, there was no laughter or smiles. Glancing up out of the corner of your eye you saw as a group of people looked at you with knitted brows, they were whispering. Swallowing you dipped your head and adjusted your bag before going up to the only stand. "Um excuse me..."

"What is it?" the woman snapped.

Flinching a bit you furrowed your brows and licked your lips, "Well I was wondering if there was anything I coudl do to possibly pay for some food..."

"Unless you have money or something valuable to trade get lost. I don't give hand outs." 

Looking down you nodded and mumbled a thank you before walking away. Making your way through the forest and rocks you again tried looking for some sort of food. Looking up to one of the tree tops you tilted your head. Were those coconuts? Dropping your bag you removed your shoes and socks. Grabbing hold of the tree you started to climb. Gritting yoru teeth as you slipped back down again you dug your foot into the bark, holding onto the tree as tight as you could. Slowly but surly you managed to climb your way up to the top of the tree. Hugging it with your legs and one arm you reached out with the other to try and knock down one of the coconuts. Swatting a few times, your fingers just did brush it. Wiggling up more you hit the fruit one last time and let out a small cheer as it fell to the ground. Slidding back down carefully you walked over to lift the fruit when a boot clad foot smacked down on top of it. Looking up the brown pants leg and then torso you saw one of the men from the village standing there looking down at you with a grin. "Excuse me..." you said, trying to pull the coconut out from under his shoe. 

"Now what you doing stealing our coconuts girly?"

Furrowing your brows you shook your head. "I.. I'm not stealing... I dind't know the trees belonged to anyone.." 

"Well they do. This here is our island which makes the trees and all else here ours as well." he told the woman, bending down to pick up the coconut and toss it behind him.

Following the coconut as he threw it back to one of his three friends to catch you felt the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Straightening back up you looked back to what you guessed was the leader. "I'm sorry for taking the coconut, I was just looking for some food but I am just going to go now." you said, turning around to grab your bag and shoes. 

Smiling he grabbed the woman's bag before she could. "Now sweetheart if you got something to trade then maybe we'll just let you have that coconut." 

Shaking your head you reached for your bag and tried pulling it out of hsi grasp. "I don't so you can just keep it." you told him. 

Humming he held tight to the bag and grinned at her, "Well maybe there is something else you can give me." 

Understanding what he meant you grit your teeth, "Not a chance in hell." Snatching your bag back you put it on your back and turned to walk away again. 

Growling he grabbed her wrist to stop her, pinning her to a tree. "Now don't be so rude girl. You see I was just trying to be a gentleman and ask is all. Don't have to though, I meant what I said, everything on this island is ours... that means you as well."

Gasping a bit you felt fear fill you and quickly brought up knee. As soon as he was doubled over in pain you ran for it. You could hear him cursing and yelling behind you but you didn't stop. You had to get off this island. Running towards your boat you were suddenly knocked backwards as something hit your chest. Your mouth fell open in a silent cry and you gasped for air. It felt like you couldn't breath. Rolling to your side you managed to suck in some air and opened your eyes when you heard the sound of sticks breaking. Looking up you saw a man standing there with a club looking thing, smiling. 

"Got er' boss." he said.

Blinking you heard boots on the rocks and turned your head a small amount to see the man from earlier standing over you. 

"You are going to regret not taking my offer girl." he huffed.

Seeing his foot come towards your face you felt a pain on your cheek before everything went fuzzy. 

"Grab her."

You could feel rough hands lifting you up from the ground and huffed out as you were flung over someone's shoulder. Not being able to fight back you felt your bag get ripped from your arms. Blinking slowly you watched the trees and rocks move by in a blur. It felt like you couldn't get enough air still and your head was throbbing. They were saying something but you didn't catch any of it. When you were finally tossed down you whimpered and looked around to see you were in some sort of room. There was a fire going and you could hear muffled voices. Seeing a window on the far wall you tried to plan out your escape. 

"Now let's see what we have here." 

Seeing them unzip your bag and dump out your few things you knit your brows. 

Looking down at the hygiene products, flask and sketchbook he felt his lip lift into a snarl. 

"That's it?"

"Where's the money?"

"Where's the treasure?"

"I told you I didn't have anything!" you scoffed, trying to sit up. 

Picking up the sketchpad he flipped through it, hoping some hidden money would fall out but there was nothing. Growling he stomped over to the woman and grabbed a fistful of her hair. "That can't be all you got? Where's the money?" 

Wincing as his hand in your hair tightened you looked up into his brown eyes. "I don't have any you piece of shit!" 

Clenching his teeth he slapped her before he moved to start patting her down. Tossing down the knife in her back pocket.

When his hand felt around your chest and over your locket you tensed."NO! Let me go!" you yelled, wiggling about. Punching at him you managed to get one good hit in before he slammed you back down on the ground and straddled your middle. 

"Give me some rope!" Being handed the thin rope he held her hands in one of his while he wrapped it tightly around her thin wrists, pulling it tight and tying it off. Holding her hands down above her head he grinned down at her as she still fought against him. "You sure are a feisty one ain't you." he chuckled. 

Glaring up at him you spit in his face. Seeing him still and watching the smirk fall from his face you knew you had made a horrible mistake. 

Standing above her he wiped the spit from his eye and glared down at her. "I am going to enjoy breaking you in." he snarled, snatching his belt from the loops and folding it in half. 

Seeing the man grab the leather belt in one hand and raise it over his head you started to tremble, your past coming back to haunt you, a cry leaving your lips as it stung your side and back.

.......................

Flinching as a glass bottle was thrown into the wall beside you you opened your eyes and looked to the group of people currently drinking and talking away by the fire. Blinking your eyes you looked back to the window and saw the sky was now dark, the moon and stars out. How long had you been here? Feeling eyes on you you looked back to the leader to see him looking towards you with a smirk, your locket hanging around his neck.

"Ya'll go get us some more booze, I'ma go tend to our pet." he said. 

Stiffening you watched them all glance to you as they stood, some of them laughing as they walked out, smacking the leader on the back. 

"Don't ruin her boss." 

Swallowing hard you watched them all leave you alone with the man and saw him continue looking at you for a time, the both of you just sitting in silence as he drank his bottle of rum. When he stood and started walking over to you you tensed up and again tried pulling at the ropes around your wrist, feeling them rub your skin raw even more. 

Sitting down beside her he let his eyes rake over her body. Looking to her lips he rose his brow and moved the bottle to them. "Drink." 

Keeping your lips pinched together you tried turning your face away from him but he quickly grabbed your jaw and squeezed, forcing your mouth open enough to pour in the strong alcohol. Coughing you felt it spill down the side of your face, burning the cuts and scrapes that were there. 

Chuckling he sat the bottle down to move his hands down her neck. Gripping the neckline of her shirt he tugged hard, ripping the material almost in half. 

You wanted to cry. Trying to curl up he held you down and you felt his hand move to your breast, groping your mound painfully. 

"Huh...interesting soulmate mark you got there? Is he some kind of clock maker?" he chuckled. 

Not understanding what he was talking about you tried pushing his hand away with your bound ones. When he took out a knife and started running it along your chest and over the mark between your breasts you felt the tears roll down your temples and closed your eyes tight. 

"Aww don't cry yet beautiful, we're just getting started." he chuckled, dragging the blade over her skin to leave a trail of blood. 

When he leaned down to pushing his lips to yours you felt something wet proud at your lips your eyes went wide as it pushed it's way inside, his hand attempting to push into your pants. This was your chance. Biting down on his tongue you heard him scream but you only bit harder. A sharp pain to your chest made you release him. 

Falling to his back he covered his mouth with his hand, blood pouring down his chin. "YOU FUCKING BITCH!" he yelled. 

Pushing your self up you stumbled on your feet, running towards the window and feeling the broken glass get embedded in your feet. Jumping through the window you rolled to the ground, your adrenaline making you able to forget about the pain radiating through your body. Running towards the trees you heard him yelling behind you and then the sound of a gun filled the air and you fell to the ground. Screaming at the burning pain in your shoulder you panted and rolled down the rocks. Once you stopped you looked up at the sky for a few seconds. You could hear yelling, they were coming. Shaking you stood and pushed yourself forward, knowing you wouldn't get another chance if they found you. You fell and tripped on the rocks and roots, your battered body feeling like it was ready to give out any second. As the voices drew closer you looked around frantically. Seeing a dark hole in the rocks you moved towards it and dropped to your knees before squeezing inside. Going in as deep as you could you curled up and held your breath when the voices and heavy footfalls ran by. Watching their shadows run by you felt tears roll down your cheeks. 

Sliding down the wall of your little crave you curled up and started to shake as your adrenaline started to fade. Laying your head down on the ground you bit your lip to muffle your sobs. Everything hurt, your whole body was throbbing and you could feel blood soaking into your clothes. What were you going to do now? Were you going to die? Wouldn't surprise you if this was how it ended. Your life had been nothing but shit up to this point anyway. The only good thing you had happen to you was Crocodile and even that had ended in heartbreak. In all honesty if this was it you wouldn't really care. There was nothing else for you to live for. You had no home, no family, no friends. None would miss you, no one would even notice you were gone. Hell if word somehow got to Crocodile he would probably be happy, he'd probably laugh. Feeling a clenching in your heart you closed your eyes and brought your bound hands to your chest. "p..please just l..let it be quick.."you whispered as you started to loose consciousness, hoping whatever higher power there was would have mercy on you, just this once. 

..................................

He had already searched two islands now and she wasn't on either. The dark thought that she had fallen victim to the sea crossed his mind occasionally but he quickly tossed it out. No she was not dead, she was alive, he could feel it. He refused to believe she was gone. But there was something in his chest, some heavy pressure making him feel like something was wrong. Arriving on the run down island he stepped off the boat and looked down the rocky shore. It was just past dusk and he could see lights from the small run down village. Narrowing his eyes he looked to his men and nodded. They knew the drill, search for any signs of his missing soulmate. Puffing on his cigar he started walking towards the village, looking over the people he saw them all looking at him warily. Going up to a woman at the only stall he could see he took out y/n's phone and showed her the picture of the two of them she had taken, ignoring the woman's confused look at the device. "Have you seen this woman?" he asked.

"No." the woman said, barely glancing at the picture. 

She was lying. Narrowing his eyes he went to go say something when Dori came hurrying over to him. 

"We found the boat Captain." the young man said.

Looking down at him he raised his brow, "Where?"

"South side of the island sir, looks lik..."

"What exactly you lot here for?" 

Turning at the sound of another man he looked to see a brown haired man looking up at him with his arms crossed over his chest. Opening his mouth to speak his eyes caught sought of something gold around the man's neck and felt his temper flare, his teeth biting down on his cigar. In an instant he had his hand wrapped around the man's throat. 

"What the fuck man!" 

Ignoring him he lifted the necklace with the curve of his hook, not caring when it cut open the his chest. Lifting it up he saw it was y/n's locket and felt his lip lift into a snarl, his brows dropping to glare at the man. Now looking him over he saw blood on his shirt collar and bruises along his jaw. "Where is she?" he growled. 

"I don't know who the hell you are..."

"I am not a man you want to test. Now where is she?!" Seeing the man stay silent he dug the tip of his hook into the man's shoulder, watching him scream. 

"CAPTAIN!" 

Snapping his eyes up he saw Hex standing in the doorway of a run down looking barn. Tossing the man to Bonez he walked towards the doorway and looked inside. Not much filled the space, a few chairs around a fire pit and old, broken bottle of what looked like sake. None of that caught his attention, his eyes fell to the black bag laying on the floor and it's contents stowed about. A small pocket knife he knew was hers, the one Vick had given her. Her sketchbook was laying on the dirty floor, some of the pages torn out. Walking over to one he bent down and lifted it up to see a drawing of him. He was lounged back in the small canoe of hers, a butterfly on his hook. He had knew she was drawing when they had went out that day but he didn't know she had drawn him. He looked relaxed with the cigar in his mouth and his eyes closed. There was even the small amount of scruff on his jaw from where he hadn't shaved. Swallowing hard at the amount of detail she had put int he picture he then felt his blood boil. Turning back he held out the drawing to Maverick as the man went about picking up her things, placing them back in her bag. Walking over to the man he looked him in the eye. "Where. Is. She?" 

"The bitch ain't here! She took off!" he said defensively before he let out a choked gasp, looking down to see the man's hook disappear into his gut. 

Pulling his hook up slowly he heard the man scream and narrowed his eyes before he pulled it out. Looking to Bonez he took a breath, "Keep him alive. Take whatever you find." was all he said and saw his second nod. Glancing to the broken glass on the floor he noticed small bloody footprints leading to a broken window and pushed his way past to the door. Walking around to the side of the barn he looked down and broken glass in the grass. Looking up to the forest and rocks he felt his heart beat rise and his feet move for him. He could hear the sounds of his crew pillaging the village but it was simply music to his ears. Walking through the trees and tall grass he noticed blood along the rocks. A small stream ran along the rocky ground and on the other side the blood trail disappeared. Snapping his eyes around he looked down a small cliff hill and saw a little hole of sorts. It was small but so was she. Climbing down he got down on his knees and looked into the cave. It was dark so he couldn't see much and grit his teeth before he remembered the flashlight y/n had shown him her phone had. Fishing the thing out of his pocket he turned the light on and then bent over to shine it into the hole and what he saw made his blood run cold. 

His cigar fell from his mouth in a gasp. "Y/n." he called but she didn't move. Se was facing away from him, her small body curled up in the back of the cave with her blood puddled on the rocky floor. "Y/n!" He called again, his voice coming out louder and deeper. Attempting to reach her his fingers just barely brushed her back. Growling out in frustration he used his devil powers to push sand under her slowly and then move her towards him enough so he could reach in and pull her out. When he finally had her out he looked down at her and felt a knot form in his throat. Brushing her blood matted hair our of her face he saw the dark bruises and gash on her cheek. They had beat her, badly. His breathing was erratic as he gently moved the curve of his hook to her chest, flipping back her ripped shirt and looking down at her blood spattered skin and seeing the dark soulmate mark directly over her breastbone just like the witch had said. Although it looked like someone had cut her over it he saw it looked like a sand glass. Licking his lips he lifted his eyes up her body, looking over her collarbone and then throat. Bending down over her he listened to her shallow breathing and felt a flood of relief wash over him, she was alive...for now. That could easily change though, she had lost a lot of blood. She need held and she need it now. Laying her over his lap long enough for him to shrug his coat from his shoulders he wrapped her in it to the best of his ability and then carefully moved his hook under her upper back and his hand under her knees. Lifting her easily into his arms he stood and held her tightly to his chest before walking to the village. 

Getting on board his ship he carried her straight to his room, laying her on his bed and not caring at all for the blood seeping into his bedding, he could feel it on his clothes. He wanted to massacre the whole village, he wanted to make that piece of shit pay for what he had done to her but he couldn't bare to leave her side again. Ripping her mother's locket from his neck he looked him dead in the eyes as he told Bonez to take care of it, walking away and adding the command for him to drag it out. He had yet to acquire a doctor on his crew and he was quickly regretting that decision. He knew a basic amount of medical skills but nothing compared to what she needed. Having the lights from his oil lamps and candles he could see just how bad her injuries were, not even mentioning what her bloody clothes were hiding. She hadn't made a sound the whole time and the feel of her clammy skin made him uneasy. As soon as the crew was back and had loaded all they had acquired he left Daz in charge of commanding the deck. Hearing a knock at the door he growled. "WHAT?!" Looking up he saw Maverick there and knit his brows. 

"I ain't no doctor but my father was, I may be able ta elp' the lass." he said. 

Nodding stiffly he saw the man walk in, towels and a few bottles of alcohol in his hands. Looking back down to her he felt a painful clenching in his heart, "Don't give up on me darling." he said in his head. 


	10. Chapter 10

The journey to Sabaody seemed to take twice as long as it actually had. For the two day sail he had stayed in his room, watching over her. She had developed a fever and her body trembled in his bed. Twice daily he sat her head in his lap while he tried to get her to swallow down the tea Maverick had made to help keep her alive. It was nothing but herbs that they had on hand but it was something. Not having a choice he had removed her clothing but kept her covered with his blankets and sheets to help hide her nudity. She looked so tiny and frail in his large bed, her skin flushed of color and a cold sweat covering her brow. He had been dabbing her bruised face with a wet rag when Daz had spoke outside his door, telling him they were at the Archipelago. Tossing the rag aside he put on his boots and hook. Walking over to the bed he made sure she was wrapped up tightly before lifting her into his arms again, her head lolling back like a rag doll until he adjusted her. His back was stiff from having slept in his chair for the past two days but he ignored it. Holding her in one arm he grabbed the corner of the blanket and covered her face from view. Walking to the door it was opened for him and he looked towards the Mangrove forest and silently prayed there would be a doctor there that would be able to help his soulmate. 

...................................

He paced the hall outside of the room, the floorboards soon to have a permanent track in them. Lighting what had to be his fifth or sixth cigar he shoved the lighter back in his pocket before lifting his hand to rub his face, brushing back his hair. Another loud scream made every muscle in his body tense and his teeth bite down on the butt of the rolled tobacco in his mouth. Daz was there, sitting in a chair with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed. As her agonizing sob rung through the halls he growled and snapped his eyes to the door. Just what were the doing to her?! Moving to take one step towards the door he heard Daz speak. 

"If you interrupt them it will only make her pain last longer." 

Freezing he snapped his eyes to the man, a deep frown on his face but he saw his eyes still closed. Looking back towards the door he sighed and stood back straight before walking over and sitting in the chair beside Daz. Crossing his legs and arms he puffed on his cigar and sighed. "Why are you here?" he asked. The rest of the crew had went along to do their own things but his second had willingly come with him. "You don't have to be."

"I care for her well being. Once I know she is stable I will leave." Daz answered honestly.

Knitting his brows he looked to the man and saw him open one eye to meet his stare. 

"I was questionable when you first showed up with her but she quickly grew on me. Y/n is a kind woman, too kind to be around people like us but one can not help who they are destined to be with."

Breathing out a lung full of smoke he let the man's words sink in. "Have you found your soulmate?"

Sighing he closed his eyes once again. "Yes. We grew up together and married young."

"You never asked for leave to go visit her..." he said, furrowing his brows. 

"Because she is no longer living... She passed in childbirth, along with my son." 

Blinking he watched the man's face remain as stoic as ever and felt his brow twitch the slightest amount. "My condolences." he said in a low voice. Seeing him nod he turned his head back to stare at the door. A few more hours went by before the door to the room opened. He watched as two nurses walked out pushing a cart with bloody equipment on it, a shiver running down his spine before he saw the doctor stand in the door and look to him. Tapping out his cigar he stood and walked over to meet the man, trying to peek inside the room but only managing to see the end of the bed. Looking down at the older man he saw his face tired. 

"I don't know what happened to her and I don't care to but I will say this, if you hadn't gotten her here when you did she wouldn't have made it another night. Along with multiple deep cuts and bruises she has at least four broken ribs. Her body is littered with welts, the bottom of her feet were embedded with glass as well as a few larger pieces in her thigh and calf. She has a concussion and was shot in the right shoulder. The bullet shattered when it hit her shoulder blade but we were able to get all the pieces out. We have her on some medicine to help with pain and infection and we will monitor her to make sure her fever goes down. She is doing better, she will need time to heal and she will need to take it easy for a few weeks but you should be able to move her in a day or so."

Nodding his head he glanced to the room again. 

Understanding he opened the door and stepped out of the way. "If you need anything let one of the nurses know." was all he said before he left. 

Shutting the door behind him he turned towards the bed and slowly walked forward. Standing over her he looked down at her small bandaged body and frowned. The sheet was pulled up to the top of her breasts but he could tell her entire upper half was wrapped in bandages along with little ones on her cheek and jaw. Her breathing was steady now and she didn't look like she was knocking on death's door. Although dark circles did surround both of her eyes, blending in with the bruises. They had been separated a total of five days and he had been told by Maverick that even days prior she hadn't eaten. More than a week she had been without a proper meal, her slightly hollowed cheeks told him she was becoming malnourished. When she woke up he would get her anything she wanted, he didn't care what it was as long as she ate something. Lifting his hand to her cheek he brushed his fingers over her skin, trailing his hand down her neck and over her collarbone. He wanted to see her soulmate mark again, wanted to stare at the proof that they belonged to one another but he wouldn't disturb her. She needed her rest and as much as he wished to stay awake he hadn't slept much since all this happened either. Glancing to the lounge chair he let out a sigh, his back would be ruined when this was all said and done. Tugging the sheet up to her chin he removed his coat and walked over to the thing, pulling it towards the bed a little more so he would be able to hear if her breathing changed at all. Getting as comfortable as he could he looked to her, staring at her until his eyes finally slipped close. 

....................................

Were you dead? No there wasn't supposed to be pain when you died, well not unless you went to hell... Voices... they sounded familiar. Fluttering your eyes open you blinked a few times, the light in the room making you wince a little. Your head hurt. Looking up at the wooden ceiling you glanced to your left to see a window and a chair with a familiar fur coat laying in it. Furrowing your brows you brought your right hand up to your face, noticing how heavy the limb felt . Rubbing your eyes you pulled it away and looked to see your wrist and knuckles wrapped in bandages. Looking down your arm you saw more bandages here and there. Finding a IV line stuck in your arm you furrowed your brows and took another look around the room. It was a medium sized room with white plaster walls and wooden floors to match the ceiling. Other than the bed and chair there wasn't else in the room, a small table between he two. One of the two doors were closed, the voices coming from behind it. The other one you tilted your head and saw it was a bathroom. Licking your dry lips you tried to get some kind of moisture into your mouth but there wasn't much to be found. Lifting your head to look down you saw you were covered by a white sheet, lifting it you saw you were naked, other than the bandages. Blushing you looked again to the fur coat, then the door and knit your brows. Was he here? Why was he here? 

Biting your lip, you painfully moved to sit up in bed, feeling like your chest and head were getting hit with a bat. Thankfully your bandages covered your chest completely. Slowly turning to drop your legs over the side of the bed you just sat there for a few seconds. Your feet were wrapped up as well making your huff, you felt like a damn mummy. Pulling the IV from your arm you stuck the needle back in the line. Holding the sheet you eased from the bed, breathing heavily when a sharp pain struck the soles of your feet. Your hands shook and your fingers gripped the bed so hard your knuckles were white. Taking a deep breath you pushed your foot forward attempting to take a step towards the bathroom and almost loosing your footing. Closing your eyes you kept going, holding the sheet around you. When you were close enough to grab the door frame you heard the other door open and then a woman gasp.

"No, No miss you can't be out of bed yet!"

Hearing the nurse's frantic words he stopped mid sentence and snapped his eyes towards the room y/n was in. Pushing the door open he saw as the nurse ran over to a stumbling y/n. He didn't even know she was awake. Taking a step closer he saw y/n quickly slam the door to the bathroom close. 

Quickly locking the door you heard as the nurse tried the knob and then knocked. Leaning back against the door you closed your eyes and tried to even out your breathing. 

"Miss you really shouldn't be in there alone, you could fall..."

Glancing sideways to the mirror over the sink you grimaced at the state of yourself. Your hair was mated with what looked like blood... you looked like death. Pushing off the door you reached over to turn on the shower and dropped the sheet. 

"If you would like a bath I can help yo..."

"I am more than capable of bathing myself." you told the woman. Moving your hands to start unraveling the bandages you froze when you heard a deep voice speak. 

"Y/n open the door so she can help you." he said in a low voice. 

"I can do it myself." Dropping the bloody bandages to the bin you swallowed hard, the sound of his voice making your heart ache. You didn't understand why he was here. 

Sighing he looked to the nurse and tilted his head to the door, telling her to go. Once she was gone and the door to the room was shut he leaned against the door that his soulmate was behind. When he heard a muffled cry he tried the knob. "Y/n..."

"Go away." you whimpered, trembling as you held onto the shower wall. Turning under the water some to wet your hair you watched the water turn a murky red. When you heard a thump and then a sliding you knew he was sitting on the other side of the door and felt tears brim your eyes. "Why did you come back for me? Why..why didn't you just let me die?" you asked, feeling your lip tremble and tears roll down your cheeks. 

Closing his eyes he let out a deep breath, resting his arms on his knees and dropping his head. He had been thinking about what he would say when she woke, what he would say when he saw her again. He had never been good with emotions, he never cared about anyone enough to express the way he felt... until now. Looking down at his hook he licked his lips, "You know about this world, more than I know and probably ever will but there is one thing I do not think was in your books... The tattoo you saw on my hip, it's not really a tattoo. I have had it since the day I was born, everyone born in this world has one, they are all different, different placements, colors, shapes, sizes, every one is unique. They have many names, some call them bonding marks, others soulmate marks but their purpose is the same, a clue to who ones soulmate is." when he heard nothing he lifted her locket from his pocket and opened it, watching as the arrow spun around before pointing behind him, towards the woman currently taking a shower. Reading over the words he felt a small tug at his lips. "You are my soulmate y/n..."

You didn't say a word as he went about explaining everything to you. He told you about the night he was sent to your world, he told you about the witch who he now knew to be fate and how she had intervened when you were about to take your own life (Something you had never told him yourself). Hearing him mention the pull he felt towards you you closed your eyes, having felt the same thing but thinking it was all in your head. When he told you about how you were from this world, how you had been sent here through a mirror like the one in your dreams you closed your eyes tight. 

"I know none of this sounds real y/n and I know I have done nothing to show you my words are true but I believe you know the truth. You know you never belonged there, you felt it. You told me that you were drawn to the one piece books that my world always called to you and that's because this is your home. I am..." Lifting his chin he closed his eyes, "I am your home." 

Having moved to lean back against the shower wall you bit your shaking lip. "Y..you don't want me...I'm a burden, pathetic...."

She was crying, her voice soft and shaky. He had never seen her cry, not when she got hurt or even when he yelled at her but hearing her now he knew how much his words had wounded her and it made him feel horrible. It wasn't even like she was just repeating his words, reminding him of what he had said. It was like she was stating obvious facts, like she truly believed all of that. Clenching his teeth he swallowed down the knot in his throat. "No. You are wrong y/n. I never meant any of that, I was angry, I was trying to deny my feelings towards you. I searched for my soulmate for many years y/n and I am not ashamed to say I gave up hope. I'm almost forty five years old. Most find their destined love in their twenties, I thought my time was over but then I met you." Smiling he laid his head back against the door. "You, some woman I had never met took me in and you were so kind, even knowing all of my sins, you never said an ill word to me, you didn't even ask for anything in return. You make me happy and you make me smile and laugh and feel things that I had given up hope of ever feeling and..." Tightening his fist he closed his eyes. "... and I apologize for the way I treated you and the things I said to you. I was cruel to you and you didn't do anything to deserve it. When you said you didn't have a tattoo I lost all hope and I became angry. I thought if I avoided you and pushed you away then I wouldn't fall for you, that I wouldn't fall for someone that wasn't my soulmate." 

"Son of a bitch.." you hissed through clenched teeth

Feeling his lip twitch he looked down, "Well I can not say I blame you for calling me names..."

"What? No...No I wasn't calling your that I got soap in my wounds." you told him, wincing and trying to quickly rinse the soap from your body. Choosing to bite you lip to keep anymore bad words from flowing out. 

Tilting his head towards the door he rose a brow, "Are you sure you wouldn't like some help form the nurse? I mean I am paying for their services." 

Looking down and frowning you blinked, "I... I'll find a way to pay you back..." you said in a soft voice, feeling guilty now.

Dropping his brows he pinched the bridge of his nose, "I didn't mean it like that." he grumbled. She wouldn't be here in the first place if he hadn't said what he had. She had gotten hurt because of him, even when he had gave her his word that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. Seeing how her hands had been tied and her shirt and bra had been ripped open it didn't take a genius to put together what that man had tried to do to her. The thought alone made his blood boil. How he wished he had had the time to make him suffer, he would have enjoyed listening to him scream... No she owed him nothing. He knew there was no point in telling her that though, she was caught on the idea that she didn't deserve things being done for her, that she didn't deserve the kindness she gave him to be returned. She had spent way more money on him with food, clothes and everything else she had bought him than he had her. It was something he was determined to change. She was his, his destined one and as such he would care for her, no matter how difficult she made it. After all her mother had asked him to do as much. 

Rinsing off completely you sighed and grabbed the handle to turn off the water. Although you felt much better after washing and having a quick shave your body was still injured and your heart although not feeling shattered was still tender. Crocodile had never lied to you, at least not to your knowledge and so you believed what he said. You felt the pulling and strong connection he had told you was apart of the whole soulmate thing and he was right you had never felt like you belonged to your own world. It was a lot to take in though and you didn't know how much more you could take today. You were so tired, wither it be because of your injuries or the words he had spoken... probably a good mixture. Seeing a comb on the counter you picked it up and started taming your wet hair, deciding to leave it down to help hide your beaten face. Glancing up into the mirror you looked at your reflection and furrowed your brows. Your face wasn't swollen at least, a purplish stain along your cheek, under your eye and along your jaw that faded into a greenish yellow. There was even a healing cut along your cheekbone where that guy had kicked you. Your lip was busted as well. Looking down at your body you swallowed hard, some sight you were, he was likely to regret being linked to you once he saw you. How were you ever supposed to be enough for the warlord, Sir Crocodile?

The water had cut off some time ago and although he had heard her moving around quietly she had said nothing. "Y/n..." he said in a low voice and heard a dull hum. "Are you finished bathing?" 

Dropping your eyes form the mirror you looked down at your feet. "Yes." There was a noise from the other side of the door before you heard his footsteps moving away from the door. Licking your lips when you heard him call for the nurse you took a deep breath as her soft knock sounded on the door. Reaching over you unlocked it. 

..................................

Sitting in the waiting chair in the hall he sat patiently until the nurse finally opened the door. 

"She is decent sir. I asked if she wanted to eat but she didn't respond. She really needs to eat to recover properly. Is there anything you think she might like, she can only have broths and such right now. " 

Standing he sighed and looked down at her, "Bring her something and I will make sure she eats it." he told the woman and saw her bow her head a little before walking down the hall. Opening the door he saw her laying in bed, her back to him as she looked out the window. She was dressed in the gown the small hospital provided but he could still tell she had bandages wrapped around her. The sheet was pulled up to her waist, covering her legs from view but he could tell they were pulled up to her some. Her damp red hair fell around her to the bed, now clean from all the blood and dirt. Closing the door he slowly walked over to her, her lidded eyes stayed focused on the window, exhaustion clear on her face. Rounding the bed to take a seat in the chair he glanced to the IV line and saw they had put her back on her medicine again, her left arm now laid beside her with the line disappearing into the nook of her arm and taped down. "You take that out again and they will have to put it in your wrist or hand, it is much more painful." he told her, her eyes looking to him. 

"Where are we?" 

"Sabaody." he said and saw her raise her brows some. "I take it you have heard of it?"

"Yes. Since you want to go to the New World I am taking it you are here for coating?" when he hummed and gave a small nod you sighed. "You do know that 70% of all ships that are coated don't make it to Fish-man Island, the bubble pops and the ship is crushed by the pressure of the sea." 

Tilting his jaw he hummed. "I don't suppose you know of a specialist?"

"I do but I don't know if he's here right now." you said. 

"And who might he be?" 

"Silvers Rayleigh, Gol D Roger's first mate. He's an expert in coating, he's the one that does it for Luffy."

"You said he may not be here right now, why?"

"Well I know sometime during the two year time skip he finds Luffy on some island and teaches him Haki. If he is still here though you will find him at his wife's bar, Shakky's Rip-Off Bar. Make sure you make a good impression otherwise he won't do it for you, no matter how much money you offer to pay him." you said. 

Thinking on her words he looked down in thought but shot his eyes back up when he heard her moving. Seeing her try and move to lay on her back he furrowed his brows at the pained look on her face that she was trying to turn away from him. Standing he stepped over to her, "Lay still or your ribs will never heal right." he told her in a deep voice. Turning his hook away form her he pushed his hand under her upper half and his hook under the sheet and under her knees. Lifting her with ease he helped move her to her back, grabbing the pillow on the end of the bed and stuffing it behind her to help her sit up. Once she was situated he saw the sheet was revealing the top of her thigh, a large bandage wrapped around the area where some bigger pieces of glass had been. Pulling the sheet back over her he moved to sit on the bed by her legs. Glancing up he saw her eyes were focused on her hands as she tried to straighten out the IV line. Untangling it and laying it out of the way as much as possible he took her small hand in his huge one, noticing that the nurse had left her knuckles and and wrists un-bandaged. Frowning at the sight of where the rope had rubbed her skin raw he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. "I failed to protect you, both from others and myself but perhaps you could find it in your heart to offer me a second chance." he said in a low, deep voice. "You will never want for anything, I'll take care of your every need..."

Keeping your eyes down you looked at his hand holding yours. It was so warm and big. His fingers were calloused a bit, contrasting with the smooth metal of his rings. Those ring, those expensive rings that reminded you of how plain you were yourself. What could he possibly see in you? You thought and swallowed hard, "You can have anyone you want, why would you want me?"

Furrowing his brows he gently lifted her chin with the curve of his hook, forcing her eyes to meet his. "There is no one like you my dear. I have been searching my whole life for you darling, for my soulmate.... I was not disappointed by what I found." he told her with a grin and saw her sea blue eyes look up to him, a small bit of shock in her beautiful orbs. Flickering his eyes to her lips he felt a warming in his chest and leaned down before finally claiming her lips.

Stiffening when his lips pushed themselves to yours you felt his hand move from yours to gently grab your hip while his hook stayed under your jaw, keeping you in the position he wanted. Soon you felt your eyes close and your body relaxing as much as possible with your injuries. 

Restraining himself from snatching her into his arms he held her hip in a gentle grip. Her lips were so soft, even if he could feel were her lips was busted at. He wanted more, so much more but he couldn't right now. Hearing a small knock at the door he ended the kiss just as the nurse opened the door. "Time to eat." 

Looking up at him you glanced to the nurse bringing over the tray and then back to him. Opening your mouth and giving a small shake of your head you saw him look down at you with a firm look that told you you had no choice in the matter.


	11. Chapter 11

You were so bored. Staring up at the Inn ceiling you sighed. It had been over a day since he had left and you were out of things to do. Your phone was dead, there weren't any books. Pushing yourself up to a sitting position you winced a little but after a few seconds you were fine. It had been a few days since you had been let out of the hospital and moved to a suite at the inn with Crocodile. There were two beds this time so thankfully you hadn't had to sleep on the couch. He had only spent the first day here with you before he had left to go speak to someone about getting the ship coated, only returning long after you had went to bed and leaving before you got up. He had said he would be back soon and had asked you to stay here so you could heal and rest. Looking to the door you bit your lip and stood. Walking to the door you opened it slightly and saw Ori and Slade sitting outside of the door, playing cards. At hearing the door open they both looked up to you. 

"Oi, hello miss Y/n... d..did you need anything?" Ori asked. 

Shaking your head you gave him a soft grin, "No, I was just wondering if Crocodile had returned."

"Nnnn...not yet miss."

Nodding you shut the door and looked back at the empty room. Walking to the window you looked out around the land and placed your hands on the pane as you leaned forward to look out more. When the window suddenly opened you had to quickly catch yourself from falling out. Looking down with wide eyes you saw the ground not too far down and grinned as an idea formed in your head. Looking down at Crocodile's dress shirt you rose a brow and hummed. 

.......................

Walking towards his suite he furrowed his brows at the sight of the two crew members he left in charge of guarding y/n scrambling about. "What the hell are you two doing?" he asked. Both men instantly stiffened and turned towards him with their faces full of fear.

""Well um Cap...captain um.. there is a slight..."

When they started stumbling on their words he narrowed his eyes and moved towards the door, grabbing the knob and pushing it open. Looking around the room he saw it empty. Snapping his eyes to the beds he didn't see her in either. Stiffening he grit his teeth and growled as he turned back to the two. "WHERE IS SHE?!" he yelled. 

"She... she escaped Captain..."

"You two are so pathetic you can't keep watch over one woman?!"

"She climbed out of the window Captain, we didn't even know she was gone until I went to ask if she wanted anything to eat." Slade told him. 

Snarling he bit down on his cigar and turned on heel. This woman would be the end of him, he knew she was restless but this was ridiculous. She needed to heal, she needed time to heal but no she had to go and leave. What if she had left him again? What if she didn't want him? She had seemed contempt with him for the past few days. While yes she had mostly slept while he watched over her when they did talk she had seemed to be willing to give him a second chance. Once he had moved them to the Inn he had gotten Daz to bring them a nice dinner to share. The room itself had two beds, while he wished to share a bed with her, wanting the security of knowing she was safe beside him, he knew it was better if she healed. He didn't want to chance him grabbing her or jostling her someway in his sleep and hurting her. No he didn't think she had left to get away from him. His y/n liked to see things, liked to explore but this wasn't the place. To be honest he wasn't likely to allow her anywhere without someone looking after her again. 

Looking left and right for her he tried to think of where she would go. She didn't have any money, hell she didn't even have any clothes other than the shirt of his she was wearing. Biting down on his cigar he groaned as he searched the streets for her. Where the hell is sh... Stopping mid thought his eyes caught sight of a head of red hair. She was just walking down the road, clad in nothing but his dress shirt that she had rolled the sleeves up on and tied the bottom to keep it tighter to her legs. She wasn't doing anything in particular just looking around at this and that, a soft smile on her face as always. Daz was right she was too kind for someone like him. Curious as to what she did when he wasn't around he decided to just follow her, far enough away so she wouldn't know he was there but close enough to protect her if something bad happened. 

............................

Walking down the street you looked at this and that, seeing different things and smiling. Everything was so green and pretty then above were the big bubbles that made the sun shining through the trees look like rainbows. Stopping to watch a man making pottery you grinned at how skilled his hands were. Moving along you walked through the market area, seeing the fresh foods and feeling your stomach clench a little when you walked past the baked goods. Damn you would kill for a cinnamon bun right about now. Seeing a woman drop her basket, her produce start rolling you quickly moved over to grab them for her. Handing them back to her you saw her smile and give you a small thank you that you nodded to before continuing on your way. Leaving the market you walked down by some of the other shops and such. Doing a bit of window shopping you looked into the jewelry store and saw the sparkling gems and then the fancy purses and shoes. Going to the next window you stopped when something caught your eye. Behind the glass was a dress, a long black silk dress. It hung on the mannequin by two thin spaghetti straps that criss-crossed over the chest, accentuating the V-neckline. It seemed to fit the upper half and hips before flowing loosely from the waist down. The mannequin was turned sideways so that you could just see the open back and the silt going up to about mid thigh on the left side. Tilting your head a bit you wondered how weightless it was, how soft the material was. It was a beautiful dress no doubt about it. Straightening up you took a deep breath, even if you had the money you would never be able to pull off something like that, not that you ever had a reason to wear something so nice. Turning and continuing your walk you couldn't help but wonder if Crocodile would have thought differently though, would he have thought you looked pretty in it or would he have told you you looked like a fool for even trying it on. No best to just forget about the dress that probably cost more than your whole wardrobe back home. Seeing a ball roll towards you you stopped it with your foot and looked up to see a group of small children running towards you. 

He had been following her for sometime. She seemed so intrigued by everything and it made him chuckle lightly. She was amused easily, finding joy in the little things in life... the complete opposite of himself. When she had walked by the craft store and looked in he grinned, he had already gotten her new drawing supplies. A new sketch book and charcoals awaited her on his ship. When they had been sailing here and he had stayed in the room with her for those two days he took the time to look over her book. She was very good and he enjoyed seeing the ones of the different landscapes, a few being of the different islands they had been to. A few though had worried him, dark, rough sketches. There was one of a girl who looked to be curled up in the corner of a room a hand holding a folded belt in the front. Another had been a woman who looked like she was drowning, her hand attempting to reach for the surface while a ball and chain attached to her ankle was pulling her down. The one of the sand glass stuck in what looked like hills of a desert had caught his eye, the eight pointed star in the night sky making him quickly deiced that that one would be framed and placed on the shelf in his office. Then there was the last one, a lone boat floating all alone in the endless sea. It was raining and a strike of lightning was in the background, coming out of the rolling clouds.

He watched her walk through the market, stopping to help the elderly woman and looking at the baked goods a little longer than was necessary. Once she had exited the market he followed her through the shopping district, watching her glance into windows. He had to clench his teeth to hold back his laugh when her nose scrunched up at a particular purse in the store. So she wasn't a fan of animal prints, noted. When she suddenly stopped and looked into one of the shops he watched her intently. Her eyes looked over whatever was inside with a longing. Even from here he could see how interested she seemed, how her head tilted slightly and her small finger came up to press against the glass softly. What was it that held his darling's attention so? After about a minute she straightened her back and stepped away before she was again walking. Knitting his brows he stayed where he was as she moved further away. Seeing a ball roll towards her, followed by a group of small children. His y/n was quick to stop the ball and kick it back towards the children who were all smiling. When some of the children began talking to her and held out the ball to her he watched as she took it and gave a bounce on her knee before it dropped tot he top of her foot and then moved it so it went round and round her foot. From here he could hear the children laughing and it made the corners of his mouth pull up a bit. When one of the little girls pulled on her hand he lifted his chin as she followed them. Humming he moved after her, passing by the window she had been staring at he stopped and looked over the black dress. Letting his eyes linger over the silk fabric he could easily imagine her in the dress. Turning his head back to his dear he saw her smiling and grinned as he looked back to the shop and walked towards the door. 

Buying the dress and telling the tailor how he wanted it fitted he walked out of the shop, putting a cigar in his mouth and lighting it. Looking down the street he glanced over everyone and then down to the place Y/n had been. Not seeing her there anymore he walked down the street and looked around for the children. Hearing laughter he followed it down a small path and out to a small open area with swings and a small goal. The children were all playing around, none of them noticing him yet. His brows dropped when he didn't see Y/n anywhere. Feeling a small thump on his leg he looked down to see the ball bounce off of him and roll to the grass. Lifting his eyes he saw a few of the small children running towards him. Some of the older ones stopped short, uncertainty on their face but then he saw one of the youngest ones come towards him to grab the ball, the same one that had pulled y/n away. She was a little blonde haired girl with bright green eyes, a hand made dress on her tiny form. 

"Hello." she said.

"Hello. The woman that was with you before, do you know where she went?" he asked. 

"Creesi.... I told you not to talk to strangers." 

Watching a little boy who looked a few years older than her come running over and grab the little girls arm he grinned, had to be her older brother. "The woman that was with you before, where did she go?"

Looking up at the massive man he huffed out, "Why should I tell you?" 

Raising one brow he grinned, "Tough guy are you? Well if you must know she is a friend of mine..."

"Is she your girlfriend?" the little girl giggled behind her brother.

Glancing to the girl he opened and closed his mouth, was she? They were soulmates yes, they had kissed that once and he cared deeply for her, very deeply but the label girlfriend sounded so... Juvenal. He didn't want to be her 'boyfriend' he wasn't a boy, he was a man, a grown man. "Perhaps... I suppose you could call it that." he answered and saw the girl grin, a pink blush on her cheeks. "So will you tell me where she is now?" 

"If she was your girlfriend you should know where she is." The little boy said, crossing his arms over his chest. "If she was my girlfriend I wouldn't let her go out by herself."

"And why is that?" he asked, growing slightly irritated by the boy's attitude.

"Cause, slavers look for girls like her, they pick em' up when they're alone. A real man wouldn't let his woman out of his sight, he'd protect er'." he told the man. 

Humming he crouched down and looked the boy in his eyes, peeking back at his sister who was clinging to his shirt. "Is that what you do, you protect your sister?" he asked and saw the boy nod.

"That's right, I won't let them take her like they did my mama." 

The boy had guts that was for sure. Grinning he grabbed the ball by his feet and held it out to him. "Very brave of you. I will be sure not to let my friend out of my sight again." 

Sighing he looked towards the right, "She went down to the water, down that path and to the left." 

Nodding he stood and turned to walk down the path the little boy had told him about. What the boy had said about the slavers worried him, he knew Sabaody dealt in slaves but he hadn't thought about how that would endanger y/n. Now he was more eager to find her and keep her by his side. Following the path he looked around for the woman but didn't see her. There was a little family sitting a ways down, enjoying what looked to be a picnic. Going left he saw the roots go a bit wilder and lowered his brows. Where was she? The thought that she may have been taken made him tense. Not seeing anything he growled and went to turn back to the path when he heard a soft hum. Stilling he listened closely and then moved towards the soft noise. Looking around one of the large roots he saw her. She was just sitting on one of the lower roots, the tips of her toes just barely brushing the water's surface when a few of the higher waves came. She hadn't seemed to notice him yet, her eyes focused on the water below, grinning he decided to teach her a lesson. Turning to sand he flew over to her and wrapped his arm around her. "And what are you do..ah..."

Letting out a small scream when something grabbed you made the poor decision of jumping at the contact sending you and your attacker into the water below. It only took you about a second or two to realize who that deep voice belonged to. Reaching into the water you pulled with all your strength before he could sink. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!" you yelled, hearing him cough a little. Grabbing the root with one hand you kept your other wrapped under his bicep, pulling him to the roots so he could climb up. 

Gritting his teeth at his now wet self he growled as he pulled himself up to the top of the roots again. Seeing her trying to grab hold of some of the roots to pull herself up but having a hard time reaching the higher roots he grabbed her hand and pulled her up, letting go once she was beside him. "What made you think that was a good idea?" he growled out, using his powers to drain the excess water out of his clothes. 

"Me?! Oh no, you were the one that tried to scare the hell out of me, this is your fault. I told you I was going to hang a bell around your neck." you told him. Trying to ring out the water form your, well his shirt you blushed when you noticed it had rode up your thigh some and quickly snatched it down before he saw everything. 

Seeing her trying to ring out the shirt he placed his hand on the fabric, within a few seconds it was dry. 

"Thanks." you told him before grabbing your hair and doing the same thing. 

"I will not take the blame for this because if you had stayed in the room like I told you to I wouldn't have had to come look for you. So technically this is your fault." he told her. 

"I got bored." you shrugged.

"You were suppose to be resting so you could heal." 

"I am healed...."

Raising one brow he grabbed her leg, placing it in his lap and lifting the bottom up her thigh to show the gash with a few stitches in it. 

"Mostly..." you said with a guilty smile. 

Sighing he pulled the shirt back down but kept his hand on her thigh. "You are not allowed to go off on your own anymore." When he saw her go to object he looked down at her with a stern face. "This is non negotiation y/n. You know how dangerous this world is, I will not allow harm to come to you again..."

"I don't want to be a burden..." you said, looking down at the ground. 

Lifting her chin with the curve of his hook he looked into her eyes, "You are not a burden, You are my soulmate and it's my responsibility to take care of you. Do you understand me?" he said in a low, deep voice, slowly moving his hook down her neck to stroke the skin there. 

Getting lost in his lidded silver eyes you saw kindness there but also seriousness. Nodding slowly you saw his lips lift into a smile before they smashed into yours. 

....................................

Walking towards the ship with Hex, who had been assigned as your personal bodyguard today you saw it had a shiny coating on it, a bubble. Carefully walking up the walkboard you looked back towards the Mangrove forest and grinned. Whenever you made some money and could buy more supplies you would have to try and draw this place from memory. 

"Y/n." 

Hearing that deep voice you looked towards the top deck and saw Crocodile standing by the railings. He looked so handsome, his hand and hook resting on the railing, a cigar in his mouth and his lidded eyes looking down to you. Seeing the smallest lift of his lips you grinned and made your way towards him. Climbing the stairs you winced when your pants rubbed against the stitches in your thigh. Hex had thankfully brought you your clothes this morning along with a new pair of black leather boots that Crocodile had bought you. While you were happy to have your own clothes back, the black pants and blouse Crocodile had bought you, the pants were tight on your now itchy stitches. Looking up when a hand came out in front of you you took it and felt the captain pull you to stand in front of him. Even with the small heel of your boots you only came up to his diaphragm and he was more than double your width. Looking over the deck you saw everyone coming aboard, last was Daz who you saw give the order for the wallboard to be pulled back up. 

"All ready Captain." Bonez said. 

Nodding his head he gave the silent order to set sail. Feeling the ship begin it's submerge he moved his hand and hook back to the railing, trapping y/n between his front and the railing to hold her steady. As uncomfortable as he was to be taking a journey underwater the wondrous look in her eyes made him grin around his cigar. She looked around them as the ship sunk under the water before her sea blue eyes looked back to him. 

As the light dimmed down with the complete submerging of the ship you moved your hand to his, feeling his calloused thumb stroke over your skin. 

They stood there on the deck for a while, looking around at the sea life around them. He didn't much care for it all but he enjoyed watching her. When Maverick called for supper he kissed the top of her head and wrapped his hook around her middle making sure to keep the sharp point away from her. Sitting at the head of the table with y/n to his right he ate his food while making sure she ate as well. He had given Maverick the order of making sure his woman ate three meals a day now, he would have no more of her skipping meals. Once he was done he had left her there to finish up her own meal while he went and checked everything over. 

Helping Maverick clean up after dinner you headed out onto the deck. Glancing over to the captain's quarters you saw the light still on and figured he was working. Not wanting to bother him you walked over to the mast and scooted down to sit on the floor with your back leaned against the wooden pillar. It was quiet on the deck, the only sound coming from bellow deck in the dining room where some of the crew were drinking and playing cards. Letting out a yawn that ended with a shiver you pulled your knees up to your hip and wrapped your arms around yourself. It was getting colder the deeper the ship went. As tempted as you were to call it a night and go to your bed you knew this was probably a once in a lifetime sight and you didn't want to pass it up. Looking out at the water around you you grinned at the sea life and pretty coral. Yawning again you shook your head, you blamed Maverick for forcing your to get seconds and making you take your medicine with that lavender tea. Laying your head back against the mast you watched the fish swim by, feeling your eyelids getting heavier by the minute. 

Finishing up his log book he closed it and placed it back on the corner of his desk. Looking to the clock he saw it was close to midnight and furrowed his brows, he had thought y/n would come to his room after dinner. He had heard the crew below earlier and wondered if she had stayed with them. Walking out onto the deck he looked out at the sea around them and grunted, he couldn't wait until they were back above the water again. Taking the stairs down to the dining room he saw only a few crew members left, the men talking and drinking while playing a game of dice. Checking the kitchen he found it clean and empty. Where the hell was she. She couldn't be in her old room, he had given it to Daz, deciding that he wanted his soulmate in the safety of his own room. All of her things, which wasn't much had already been brought up to his quarters. Her few clothes had been put away and he had even placed her art supplies on one of the shelves on the bookcase. The cosmetics he had placed in the bathroom but the flask he had never seen he had left out. There had been nothing but plain water in it but he knew for a fact he had never seen it before and was curious as to where she had gotten it. It was a nice flask, expensive, the outer shell made from carved silver with a cross in the center of it. 

Going back up to the deck he looked all around for his dear and was beginning to worry until he saw a small foot sticking out from behind the mast. Walking over he peeked around the wooden pillar and saw her curled up on the floor, fast asleep. Glancing to the sea around them and then back down to her he huffed, she had no doubt fell asleep watching it. Taking one last long drag of his cigar he took it out of his mouth and tapped it out on the mast. Crouching down he gently slipped his hook under her bottom, holding her to him with a hand on her back and feeling how cold she was. Standing he felt her tense, "You really must stop staying out here so long, one night I will find you frozen completely." he told her in a low voice as he carried her up the stairs and to his room.

"..was watching the fish.." you mumbled into his shoulder, too tired to be embarrassed or completely register what was happening.

Closing and locking the door behind him he walked over to the dresser and grabbed her pajama pants and shirt before easing her down to stand on wobbly feet. She really was tired, telling Maverick to mix her medicine with her tea must have caused it but he would rather her be tired than get an infection again. Handing her the night clothes he nudged her towards the bathroom, "Go put on your pajamas." he told her softly. Pulling down the covers and tossing the spare pillows to the wall he heard the door open and looked over to see her pulling her hair from the neck of her shirt as she walked out. Her eyes were barely open and he watched as she moved to cover a yawn. 

"..don't like that medicine, makes me too tired..." you grumbled, stumbling a bit in the dark room. 

Chuckling he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards his bed. Helping to lift her up and sit her in on high bed he saw her look around.

"This isn't my bed.." you mumbled, trying to blink away the sleep to register where you were.

"Yes it is." he answered simply. It wasn't a lie, this was her bed... now.... their bed. 

Being pushed back to lay down you sunk into the plush bedding and pillows and tried to look around the dark room. "Nuh-ugh too comfy to be my bed..." you sighed, your eyes closing on their own. 

Chuckling he pulled the duvet over her, "This is where you will sleep from now on." he told her but saw her eyes already close. Dressing in his own silk pants and removing his hook he blew out the candle on his desk before he walked over to the bed and laid down beside her. He had never shared his bed with anyone, ever. All the woman he had had slept with had never had the honor of sleeping beside him but when he felt his darling y/n curl up beside him, cuddling his left arm and nuzzling her cheek into his bicep he knew he would never be able to sleep alone again. "Goodnight my little star." he mumbled to the sleeping woman. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do we think? I love the idea of the Big, scary Crocodile being all lovey and caring towards his true love. Only her though lol. What is something you would like to see happen next? I always love hearing from my readers. Hope you liked this chapter. Everyone stay safe.


	12. Chapter 12

When he woke early the next morning he opened his eyes to see his little star still sleeping soundly beside him. There was little to no light but he could see her eyes still closed and the small flutter of her lashes as she dreamed. Her lips were parted slightly as her cheek was still laid on his arm. Glancing down he lifted the duvet a small amount and rose a brow when he took notice of her arms wrapped tightly around his left arm. Had he in fact had his hand still it would be between her legs. Looking back up to her face he moved his hand to brush back the strands of hair threatening to fall over her nose. A small knock on his door broke the quiet moment and when he saw her brow twitch he growled and used his powers to shoot sand under the door and shove whoever it was away. He stayed there a moment longer before he slowly eased his arm free, placing his pillow in his place to hopefully keep her asleep a little longer. She needed her rest to finish healing and he knew how difficult it was to get her to do so. Dressing and putting on his hook he glanced back to the bed to confirm she was sleeping before he left to see who had decided to bother him. 

...............................

Groaning you nuzzled your face into the softness and stretched before freezing. Something wasn't right. It was warm, your room was never this warm. It was soft, your bed wasn't soft. Sniffing the bedding you almost sighed as Crocodile's strong, manly musk filled your nose. From the first time you had woken to find his fur coat draped over you you had been head over heels for his scent. He had a unique scent, his expensive cologne with hints of sandalwood and cedar along with the smell of his cigars and his own natural musk. With all of that you snapped your eyes open...you were not in your room, you were in his, in his bed. Sitting up quickly you felt your cheeks heat up and it only worsened when a deep voices sounded from the desk. 

"So she finally wakes." he said, hearing the small movement from behind him. 

You were sure your whole face was as red as your hair. Scrambling from the bed you almost fell, forgetting how tall it was in your frenzy before a whirl of sand caught you and stood you back straight. 

"Careful." 

Wrapping your arms around yourself you licked your lips, "How did I get in here?" you asked.

"I brought you here after you fell asleep on the deck last night... again." he told her, continuing to work on his log. 

You could vaguely remember last night, you remembered taking your medicine and then going out to the deck and watching the fish but then that was it. "Why here though... why not my bed?" you said with a tilt of your head. 

"That is your bed now... you will sleep by me, where I can better keep you safe." 

Furrowing your brows you looked to the back of his head. "But... but that's your bed... are you sure you want me..."

Standing he made the few steps over to her and looked down at her, stroking the soft skin of her neck with his knuckles, "If I did not want you here, you wouldn't be." Looking into her eyes he saw the dark circles that had been surrounding her eyes fading along with the cut on her cheek that was nothing but a red line now. Other than her broken ribs and gun shot wound she was almost completely healed. Hopefully within a few more weeks she would be back to normal, then perhaps he wouldn't have to be AS gentle with her. Not that he would ever be rough with her. Brushing her hair back over her shoulder he cleared his throat. "Now I have a few things to take care of, we won't be here long but if you would like to go look around the island I will get one of the men to escort you." 

Groaning you gave a pout and knit your brows.

Tapping his finger on her bottom lip as it stuck out some he lowered his chin, "No. We have already been over this."

Letting out a huff you dropped your shoulders, "Ori."

"That boy can barely protect himself. No."

"Bonez."

"Daz is coming with me." 

"Maverick."

"He is going shopping for food."

Sighing you looked up at him. "See this is where Bon would come into play."

"Bentham is in prison so he is not one of your choices. Slade or Hex."

"Hex." you sighed, rolling your eyes. 

Grinning at her glum look he curled his finger under her chin to lift her eyes back to his. "Don't pout darling. It is for your protection. Have fun and stay out of trouble, I will see you in a little while." Kissing her forehead he stepped away and grabbed his coat before heading towards the door. "Your belongings have been placed up in the room. I am sure you can find them, oh and there is something for you on the desk before you leave." 

Watching him leave you let out a deep breath and looked around the room. Taking notice of one of the shelves you walked over and saw your sketch pad among several empty ones and a wooden case. Tilting your head and furrowing your brows you pulled it out and flipped the latch to open the case. What you saw made you gasp, a brand new set of charcoal pencils, oil pastels, paints, blending tools, everything you could ever need. Seeing a small piece of paper stuck into the corner by the sharpener you plucked it out and read over the fancy cursive, 

_Make your dreams a reality my little star._

Blinking you swallowed the small lump in your throat and licked your lips. Feeling a incredible warmth in your chest you smiled and gently closed the case before placing it back on the shelf for now. Looking around you saw the one piece you had done of the hourglass in the sand and the night sky with the strange star above ( What you now knew to be you can Crocodile's soulmate marks) framed and placed on one of the top shelves. Biting your lip as you grinned you moved over to the dresser and looked for your clothes, memorizing where everything was. After cleaning up some and dressing you were about to walk out with your book bag filled with your drawing supplies when you remembered Croc telling you there was something for you on the desk. Walking over you saw another folded piece of paper with your name on it. Lifting it you just did catch the few bills that fell from it and furrowed your brows when you looked over his fancy writing.

_If you want something get it. Make sure you eat and stay by Hex._

That jerk had known you would pick Hex. Huffing you only took enough money to get something to eat or drink, refusing to spend the amount he had offered. You didn't like the idea of spending money that wasn't yours. There was a few things you wanted but you would find a way to make some money first. Stuffing the bill in your pocket you moved out to the deck and saw Hex waiting for you. Hex was a decent guy, quiet and easy going, a bit moody if he didn't eat. 

"You all ready lil bit?" he asked.

Nodding you gave him a small grin and the both of you left the ship. You spent your time walking around the underwater island looking over this and that as Hex walked close behind you. You smiled at the sight of the mermaids, thinking they were so beautiful with their shining fishtails. At one point you had found a piece of turquoise sea glass about as big as your thumbnail and extreme smooth to the touch. Sticking it in your pocket you hoped to maybe make a bookmark or something out of your treasure. Buying a smoothie you offered to buy Hex one but he turned you down and bought a soda. Making your way over to the fountain you sat at one of the benches with your legs crossed under you, Hex sitting a little ways down, eating something that smelled like pork but looked like some weird vegetable. Sipping on your fruit smoothie you sat it down beside you and put your sucker back in your mouth. Tilting your head you worked on drawing the pretty town and fountain. "Hey Hex can I ask you something?" 

"Go for it."

"Um well have you ever met your soulmate?" you asked and then looked down, "I'm sorry, I don't know if that is a personal thing to ask. I just never, well I mean I don't know much about them so..."

"It's fine lil bit... Yea I knew my soulmate but it didn't work out. I won't what she wanted or rather I didn't have deep enough pockets." he said with a shrug.

Furrowing your brows you looked to the man, "I'm sorry to hear that Hex." you told him. 

"Nah it's alright, probably for the best anyway." he told her. Glancing down to her drawing he tilted his head, "You bout' done, Cap'n said I had to have you back on the ship by six." 

Nodding you folded you sketch book up and put it away in your bag before standing with him. When you got back to the ship you placed your bag up in the room before moving to help Maverick put away the shopping and start dinner. It wasn't long before you heard Crocodile's deep voice from the deck, asking if everyone was accounted for. 

"Better ead' up lass, e'll be wantin' ya close by an I know ya want to see the island one last time." Maverick said with a small grin.

Looking to him you smiled and nodded before going up to watch as the ship sailed away from the underwater island. Leaning against the railing you grinned softly. Taking the sea glass out of your pocket you held it out some to look at the island through the turquoise glass. Feeling a presences behind you you bit your lip and craned your neck to look back at him. "Hello."

Looking down at her he felt his lip pull up at her innocent look. "Did you have a good time exploring?" he asked in his usual deep voice. 

Turning around to face him you nodded. "Did you get your things done?" you asked.

Humming he looked down to her hand and rose a brow, "What is that you have there darling?"

Smiling you held out your treasure and dropped it in his hand.

"Sea glass."

"I found it by some coral. I thought I could make a bookmark out of it or something." 

"A bookmark?" he asked. 

"Yea that way I won't have to worry about loosing my place. I had one before that I made out of an old coin I found."

Looking over the turquoise glass he hummed, ever his little artist. 

"...I'll just need to figure out a way to put a hole in it without breaki..." Watching as the piece of glass floated just above his hand before what looked like a needle made of sand shot through it you blinked. Looking down when he placed it in your palm you saw a small hole in the corner, the edges completely sanded down as well so there were no sharp areas. Looking back up at him you grinned. "Show off." 

Smirking he placed his hand on her lower back to lead her towards his...their room. "Did you eat today?" he asked and saw her nod but heard Hex huff.

"Candy." Hex said as he stood by the wheel.

Gasping you looked to the man, "Snitch. And I gave you my last peppermint one." 

Lowering his brows he continued walking, pulling her along with him. "Candy is not food." 

"I had a smoothie too, that's fruit." 

Shutting the door he rolled his eyes. About to ask what else she had bought he saw money still on his desk and quickly counted it in his head, she had only took ten bellies, ten?! He had left her two hundred! Dropping his coat to the chair he looked to her, "I told you to take that money."

"I took some of it..."

"You took ten dollars." 

"That's all I needed." you told him. "What the hell do I need Two hundred dollars for?" you asked. 

Narrowing his eyes he huffed, "Clothes, shoes, jewelry... whatever else women desire." 

"I have all those things..."

"You have two outfits, one pair of boots and a locket. I do not consider that acceptable." he said, making sure not to mention the dress he had bought her. "Instead you bought a smoothie and candy." he said and saw her nod. "You spent ten dollars on junk." Seeing her bite her lip he watched as she took something from her pocket, laying down two, one berry bills on his desk with the other money before looking up at him with a smile. 

"Eight." you shrugged and heard him growl. 

"When I said for you to eat I meant real food, I did not mean to fill your already shrunken stomach with sugar." 

"I didn't eat it all at once. I still have some left over for later." you said and watched as one of his brows raised before he looked towards your bag on the sofa. The moment his foot moved you did as well, "No..." As soon as he reached to grab the bag you snatched it and held it to your chest but felt him try and pull it from your grasp. "Let go..."

"I will not allow you to skip meals and then go consume candy instead." he told her, grabbing the bag from her he turned and opened the pockets to search for the stash. Feeling her hands try and grab the bag back he started walking to the bed to dump out it's contents but felt her arms wrap around his waist in an attempt to wrestle the bag back from him. While he wouldn't ever let anyone else touch him like this he couldn't help but enjoy the close contact with his soulmate. 

"I'm an adult, I can eat what I want." you grumbled. 

He couldn't help but be amused as she tried with all her might to reach the bag when he held it above his head. 

"That not fair." you huffed trying to jump you grabbed hold of his bicep and tried hauling yourself up, your feet now dangling by his knees. "Croc.." you whined. 

Smiling at the difference in size between them he lowered his arm but continued holding her up easily. It boosted his ego when he got to show off how strong and dominant he was, he had a size kink and enjoyed exploiting it. Sitting her down on the bed and using his sand to move the bag away from her when she almost had it he looked down at her small form. Leaning down over her he felt a predatory grin spread across his face. Pushing his left arm down and moving it above her head, careful to keep his hook away from her he used it to support his weight while his fingers curled under her jaw to lift her lips to meet his. 

Pushed backwards by his mouth your head fell back against the mattress and a soft gasp left your throat. Your eyes were quick to fall close as he claimed your lips with his skilled ones. The fight quickly leaving you as his warmth enveloped your body. Your hands, where do you put your hands? Would he want you to touch him? 

Trapping her under him he slowly trailed his fingers down her neck. He could tell she was nervous, her hands hesitant to touch him, like she wasn't sure he would be okay with it. Feeling her slightly trembling hands grip his sides he slowly ended the kiss, he didn't want her to be this nervous. Looking down at her he twirled a strand of her soft hair around his finger. He could see a ting of pink of on her cheeks, her eyes looking anywhere but his own. Tilting his head a thought crossed his mind. She had told him about her frankly fucked up childhood, she had shared with him about that man who had molested her, just the thought made his blood boil. Then she had told him about her ex boyfriend who had ended their relationship because she wan't ready for intimacy. So now he wondered had she ever actually been intimate with someone, man or woman? After what had happened to her he wouldn't be surprised if she hadn't. That idiot Rob from the bar she worked at was constantly trying to fuck her but she had always turned him down. 

Feeling him move you from where he had been hovering over you you felt panic settle in, you had done something wrong. He hadn't wanted you to touch him. Instantly you felt saddened and embarrassed, your lip threatened to tremble but you stiffened it, "I'm sorr..."

Settling down beside her he propped up on his elbow, keeping his hook a safe distance from her head. He was about to speak when he heard her soft voice apologizing and quickly snapped his eyes down to her. "Do. Not. Finish. That. Word." he said in a deep command. Gripping her chin he lifted her eyes to his, seeing her try and look away again he knot his brows, "You look at me, right now." When her eyes met his he saw something he never wished to see from her again, shame. Brushing his thumb over her bottom lip he looked into her eyes, "I will say this once, you are never to apologize to me for being unsure." he told her. Still seeing a small amount of shame or perhaps embarrassment there he studied her different features. There was no way around this conversation, he needed to know. "Have you ever been intimate before?... and I do not mean what happened to you when you were a child I mean willingly." Taking notice of her lip bitten between her teeth and her eyes now focused on either his neck or chest or something other than his face he sighed. He was not normally this patient with people when he wanted answers but she wasn't one of his underlings or a business proposition, she was his soulmate and he would grant her his time. Brushing back her hair he took notice of a small scar by her temple, it was just barely visible, old, probably from her childhood. Seeing her ears pierced he made a mental note to buy her earrings at some point. "There is no wrong answer darling. It will not change anything."

Taking a much needed breath, your licked your lips. Your eyes stayed focused on the buttons of his shirt. They were shiny and a gold color, possibly real gold, knowing him. There was the standard four holes in the center with thread weaved through to hold the button to the shirt, a piece of stray black thread caught your eye and you subconsciously moved your hand to fix it but faltered for a moment. 

Glancing down when he saw her hand move but stop he felt his brow twitch. Grabbing her tiny wrist, her eyes snapped up to his, confusion filling them as he moved her hand to his chest. "You can touch me.... I would like you to touch me." he assured her, thinking she needed to hear it. Watching her fix a loose thread on his shirt he grinned softly. 

"Once... I guess." you said in a soft voice.

Furrowing his brows he looked down at her, her hands still fittling with his shirt and scarf. "What do you mean you guess?"

"Well um I was drunk and it didn't really happen." you admitted. 

Humming he loosened his scarf but felt her remove it. "Continue." 

"Not really much to tell, I was nineteen, met a guy at a wedding I was helping bartender at... I thought it would help me get over everything that happened before. So I let him buy me a few drinks and go back to the room I had paid for." Swallowing you tried to focus on his fingers that were stroking your jaw and neck. "I thought I could just forget but I couldn't. When things started getting heated I freaked out, all the memories of him came back. I guess it was too much for him, he left, not that I blame him. I can't really remember much, I remember crying when I realized how broken I was, how..." closing your eyes you sighed. "I blacked out after a while I guess, well that and drinking the entire bottle of vodka myself. Woke up the next afternoon with the worst hangover of my life. I was late for work, which I had never been before. Vick was so mad when I told him what happened, made me scrub the floor at the bar by hand." you huffed, refusing to meet his eyes because of how ashamed you were. When he said nothing you felt that fear returning, what if he changed his mind, what if he didn't want you now that he had heard about you being so afraid of intimacy? 

He listened to her story without interrupting and once she was done he studied her. He was good at reading people, good at picking up their emotions and he knew, he KNEW right now she was afraid. Afraid and ashamed. Rubbing his hand down her side to her hip he massaged over her clothes. "You are not broken." he told her, his voice deep and low. When her slightly glossy blue eyes looked up at him he lowered down but held her gaze, "Chipped, cracked even but not beyond repair." 

That lump in your throat was back from earlier. His eyes, his silver eyes that normally looked so cold and downright cruel to everyone else looked at you with such tenderness and warmth it made you feel hope.

He was now right above her again, his nose brushing hers, "If you will allow me, I will help you heal, slowly. What you know, what you have been subjected to is not intimacy. I promise you darling that I will never do anything you do not want me to, if ever you need to stop or slow down you tell me and I will. Understand?"

Crocodile was always portrayed as this uncaring, hard, cold man in the One piece manga. He was the villain, still was probably just... not to you. To you he was Croc, your soulmate, your savior and you would trust him with your worst fear. Feeling his nose brush yours, his massive body lean over you ad his warm hand massage you left hip you swallowed hard. 

As soon as she nodded he pressed his lips back to hers. This time her hands willingly touched him, one laying on his chest, her fingertips brushing his skin where his shirt was unbuttoned some. Her other hand gripped his shirt by his side. He continued holding his weight off of her with his left forearm, not wanting to crush her, his right hand rubbed her hip, her shirt rising a bit from the movement and giving him the chance to feel her soft skin. His cock gave a involuntarily throb in his pants and he grit his teeth instead of hardening the grip on her hip. As much as he wanted to deepen the kiss, to taste her he knew now was not the time. Once he had her completely comfortable with simple kissing and small touches then he would move on to more but his little star wasn't ready for that right now. Forcing himself to end the kiss he kept his eyes closed while he tried to regain control. He had never had this problem before, he would blame it on not having any since before all that shit in Alabasta. 

Opening your eyes you looked up at him, noticing strands of his hair had fallen out of place and were now framing his face. You had to say you liked the disheveled look. Lifting your hand from his chest you tentatively moved it to touch his hair, you had never touched his hair, well not since he had fell into your living room. 

He watched her through lidded eyes, she stopped for a moment, still seeming overly cautious but he said nothing. It was something she needed to learn on her own. After a moment her fingers finally reached up, he had thought she was going to touch his face but instead her finger moved to twirl around his hair. The corner of his lip tugged upward and he chuckled lightly at her innocence. Hearing Maverick call for dinner he leaned down to kiss her forehead before sitting up, brushing his hair back to it's usual style. Walking over to the bag that he had dropped to his chair. Opening it he looked inside and saw a good two handfuls of candy and other junk. Huffing he shook his head, hearing her come over he rose a brow, "I will make you a deal, you can keep your candy, you will not eat it all at once though, in return you tell me where you got this." he said, pulling the flask out of his drawer and holding it up. 

Looking at the flask you grinned, "Deal." Taking your bag you looked up at him and shrugged, "Mihawk gave it to me." 

Dropping his brows he looked down at her, a strange feeling bubbling in his chest. "What?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yay you and Crocodile are together but what happens when neither know a thing about being in a relationship? Guess you will both have to learn together...

Growling under your breath you thump your head back against the side of the building, the lewd noises from inside only fueling your anger. "Fifteen minutes my ass." you grumbled under your breath.   
  
"And how much for you doll?"  
  
Snapping your eyes open you looked towards the man standing in front of you with a disgusting smirk on his face. Before you had time to even answer his question or tell him to fuck off his hand was touching your inner thigh, trying to push under your dress. Slapping him you grit your teeth. "I am not for sale." you snarled. Having enough of this shit you grabbed your bag and stomped off down the busy street.   
  
It had not been a good day, Crocodile had been gone since last night, telling you he and the majority of the crew had a big heist they had to do on the other side of the island. Leaving you in the care of some of the lesser crew he had asked you to stay by Horx. Horx, a newer crew member who up until this point had seemed like an alright guy, that was until this afternoon. After following you around all day he had begun to get a little restless. Not that you blamed the guy, he was spending his downtime having to babysit you, you would be mad too, especially if the woman was as cranky as you. In your difference you didn't like having to be babysat. So stupidly you had asked him if there was anywhere he would like to go. Foolishly you had thought he may ask to go to a bar or a weapon shop but no, he had wanted to go to a brothel. OF ALL FUCKING PLACES! You should have known, really you should have. Being promised that it would only be fifteen minutes tops you had agreed and reluctantly took a seat outside of the establishment while he did his thing but after two damn hours you had lost it. It as nearing dark and all that seemed to be about now were the rougher folk.   
  
Sighing you continued walking, looking over this and that. There were plenty of shops and such but you still felt off about spending money that Crocodile gave you on anything other than food. Even then the food you did buy was not the fancy type. What you needed was a way to make some money and blow off some steam. Biting your bottom lip you looked around until you caught sight of a bar with a sign overhead reading 'Pool hall' Humming you grinned, that you could work with. 

..................................

  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST HER!?" he roared making the man in front of him shake in terror.   
  
"Well I... She..."   
  
Waving his hand through the air he sent the man flying with a wall of sand before he was heading out in search of her... again. He was beginning to think he would be better off locking her in their room while he was gone. It was the middle of the night where the hell would she be? The plan had been to leave tomorrow but there had been a bit of a problem in the heist and they now had to leave tonight. Telling Daz and Hex to find the rest of the crew and get them back on ship and ready to leave he went in search of his woman.   
  
"Hahaha... that doe got you good!"  
  
"Shut it!"   
  
"And you thought she was just a pretty face. Haha, girl hustled you!"   
  
Narrowing his eyes at the men's conversation he looked towards them and saw them coming from the direction of the bar. Walking that way he saw the older man looking to be closing up for the night, "Rather early to be calling it a night, is it not?" he asked.   
  
Huffing he clicked the lock on the door and turned to look towards the man, having to crane his neck to meet his eyes. "Yea well ain't got any business since that woman went and took everyone's money."   
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Some broad from outta town.. came in and managed to hustle all of my regulars out of all their money." he told the man.   
  
Humming he raised a brow, "She sounds rather interesting, would have enjoyed a game with her myself."   
  
Huffing he pocketed his keys and pointed left, "Yeah well I am sure she would be more than happy to drain you dry, she went that way, got hair as red as fire, ya can't miss her. Best luck to ya son."   
  
Having to hold in his chuckle at the irony when the man said something about her draining him dry he nodded his head and went the way he said. Following the trail he saw most of the other places shutting down for the night as well, only a few other bars and restaurants left open. As the village came to an end he still hadn't found her and he doubted she had went into any of the other places. Glancing up at the sky he saw the moon was full and the stars shining brightly, although there were storm clouds a ways away. He would need to find her, listening he heard the sound of a waterfall and grinned, his would bet money that's where his little star was. Getting to the hidden spring he looked out and saw her bag sitting by a large bolder but he didn't see her. Furrowing his brows he walked over to it, noticing her sundress and a bottle of whiskey there as well. Snapping his eyes up he looked along the rocky shore for her, about to call her name before he looked out to the water.   
  
Slowly walking over to water's edge he stared at her, captivated by the way the moonlight shone over her skin. She was standing there, the water coming up to her waist with her back to him. Her wet hair flowed down her back and he couldn't help but swallow at the knowledge that she was in nothing but her underwear. An idea was floating around in his head but he was hesitant. Tilting his jaw he looked again towards the woman, his woman and felt his heart thump in his chest. The hell with it. Kicking off his shoes and pulling off his socks he quickly undressed, leaving on nothing but his pants. Unzipping her bag he moved to put his hook inside and felt his brows raise when he saw the money and treasure inside. She really had hustle those men out of their money. Dropping it inside he zipped it back shut and quietly made his way out to the water's edge. Looking out he saw her still standing here, looking up at the night sky. He could hear a light singing from her, drawing him to her.   
  
Staring up at the stars in contentment, you skimmed your hands across the surface of the water. The only other sound coming from the waterfall a little ways away as you sang.   
  
_"Upon one summer's morning_  
 _I carefully did stray_  
 _Down by the walls of wapping_  
 _Where I met a sailor gay_  
 _Conversing with a young lass_  
 _Who seem'd to be in pain_  
 _Saying, William, when you go_  
 _I fear you'll ne'er return again_  
 _My heart is pierced by Cupid_  
 _I disdain all the glittering gold_  
 _There is nothing can console me_  
 _But my jolly sailor bold_  
 _His hair it hangs in ringlet_  
 _His eyes as black as coal_  
 _My happiness attend him_  
 _Where ever he may go..."_  
  
Feeling little ripples hit against your back you felt the corners of your lips tug upwards. "Don't even think about it."   
  
Dropping his shoulders he lowered his brows, slightly disappointed he couldn't sneak up on her. Wrapping his left arm around her body he pulled her back flush to his chest and lifted her chin with his hand.   
  
Craning your neck to look up into his eyes you gave him a soft smile. "Well look at you being all brave and coming into the water." you giggled.   
  
Huffing he rolled his eyes but grinned. "Perhaps you are to blame, a beautiful siren luring this innocent sailor into the water to drown him."   
  
Giggling you looked up at him. "I'd say you were a far cry from an innocent sailor."   
  
Chuckling deeply he stroked her cheek with his thumb as he leaned down to kiss her, smelling the alcohol on her. Pulling away he looked into her soft eyes and rose his chin a bit, "You disobeyed me..."  
  
Groaning you moved out of his arms and started walking out to the deeper water. "As you can see nothing happened to me..."  
  
Following after her he watched the water start rising up her body. "This time. I asked you to stay by Horx and you didn't."   
  
"Well I didn't exactly want to sit outside of the brothel all day." you grunted, going under the water before he could grab you.   
  
Sighing as she went under the water he stood now chest deep in the water, trying to figure out where she was. Feeling a splash he stiffened as the right side of his face and hair was soaked with water. Snapping his eyes that way he just did see her go under again. Narrowing his eyes he looked all around but didn't see her, just how long could she hold her breath? "Y/n..." Turning around in a circle he was again hit by a large splash of water. Growling he wiped the water from his face, pushing his now wet hair back. Looking in front of him he saw her there. Only her eyes and the top of her head was above the water's surface and he narrowed his eyes at the mischief in them. Lifting his finger he curled it, beckoning her to him but she quickly shook her head. Slowly walking towards her he quickly realized that the water was over her head, it coming up to the top of his chest. She didn't try to swim away as he neared her, perhaps she was giving in to him. Reaching out to pull her to him, he went to give a victorious smirk when she spit a mouthful of water in his face. 

Laughing for a moment you wiggled your arms and legs to keep you afloat but when you were suddenly yanked into his massive body and looked up to see two angry eyes glaring down at you you stiffened, your laughter leaving you.  
  
"You think that's funny, how old are you?" Growling, he glared down at her, water dripping from his brow. When he saw those two sea blue eyes looking up at him with a mixture of fear and hurt in them he froze, realization coming over him. Before he could say anything she dropped her eyes and apologized to him in a soft whisper.   
  
Easily moving out of his hold you moved back to the shore, feeling a knot in your chest. _Stupid! Childish! Idiot! He didn't want to play with you! You knew he didn't like water. You ruin everything..._ Biting your lip to keep it from trembling you felt the bottom and started walking towards your clothes.   
  
_Fucking moron! She was trying to play with you... you know like normal couples did!_ Watching her swim towards the shore he felt a clenching in his chest, she didn't look back at him as she walked up the shore and towards their clothes. Glancing down to her black panty clad ass he felt only a small spark of arousal but it was quickly overrun by guilt. He had upset her, the slight curl of her shoulders telling him as much. Slowly moving towards the shore he watched as she pulled on her sundress. "Y/n..."

Pulling your wet hair out of the neckline of the dress you swallowed hard and brushed away the single tear that fell from your eye. "I'm sorry... it won't happen again." you said without looking back at him, not wanting to embarrass yourself more than you already had. Closing your eyes and taking a breath you grabbed his clothes and turned back towards him, holding them out for him to take but keeping your eyes down as shame ate at you. 

Looking down he reached out for his clothes but furrowed his brows, "You do not want to swim anymore?" he asked even though he already knew the answer, he had ruined any chance of her happiness tonight. 

Shaking your head you licked your lips and went to answer but a loud rumble of thunder startled you. Looking up at the sky you saw a storm coming and then felt Crocodile take his clothing from your hands. 

It got here faster than he thought it would, it was true what they said about weather in the New World. Pulling on his shirt and vest he reached for his hook, feeling something he looked down and saw y/n making quick work of buttoning his shirt and vest for him, although her eyes still wouldn't lift to his. A close strike of lightning made him shove his feet in his shoes, y/n grabbing his socks and scarf to shove in her bag. 

Holding out his coat for him you felt sheets of rain start pouring down on the both of you. Your shoulders curled inward on their own, the rain cold and sharp on your bare shoulders and arms. 

Wrapping his coat around her he grabbed her bag with his hook and her hand with his before pulling her towards the docks.

Getting back to the ship Crocodile quickly told you to go inside the cabin while he went about giving orders to set sail. After everything that had just happened you had obeyed without question, not wanting to anger him anymore than you already had. Placing your bag on the floor you hung up his wet coat to dry before grabbing your pajamas and heading to the bathroom to change. Once you were in bed you stared at the wall, thinking about what had happened at the spring. You had been such an idiot, just because you saw couples do that in movies didn't mean it would be okay in real life... especially not when your other half hated water. Besides that Crocodile was a serious man, he wouldn't want to play with you. Feeling like a fool you sighed heavily, curling up in a ball you closed your eyes. 

.........................................

Waking up with a start you panted for air, your heart hammering against your ribs. Thunder boomed outside in the distance, the ship rocked a bit more than normal as the storm created waves that crashed against the ship. Staring up at the darkness and then over to where you knew Crocodile slept beside you you listened to his deep breathing, trying to match your own to it. When a flash of lightning filled the room with a quick light you screamed when you saw it wasn't him laying beside you but Don, a pair of scissors impaled in his chest. 

_"Hey there sugar.."_

Snapping your eyes open for real this time you trembled, it felt like you couldn't get enough air. You needed to get away. Crawling down the bed you almost stumbled over the covers that were wrapped around your legs. Moving towards the door you were caught off guard by something gabbing your wrist. Gasping you swung your other hand through the air, your fight or flight kicking in.   
  
Y/n?" he said in a deep voice laced with sleep when he felt a movement and then heard someone walking across the room. Pushing himself up from bed he looked out and saw the shadow of her going towards the door. Calling out for her again she didn't stop and he knew she was in that daze like he had seen her in before. Moving after her he reached out and grabbed her wrist but felt her tense, felt her body move. The sudden light from the lightning in the distance filled the room with a light for just a second, showing her closed fist coming towards him. Quickly catching her hand as she made to hit him he quickly wrapped his left arm around her small body and pulled her flush to his chest. "Y/n!" he said in a deep voice.   
  
Snapping out of your mind, your breath caught in your throat. Your right hand was held in his while his left arm was wrapped around you, holding you tightly to his chest. Looking up at him in shock, a strike of lightning showing his silver eyes looking down at you in concern. Your heart was still pounding, your breathing erratic and your body trembling. "C..croc...", your lips and throat incredibly dry, making your voice come out as a cracking whisper.   
  
Hearing how broken she sounded he furrowed his brows. He could feel her tiny body trembling, feel her heartbeat against his own chest. Crouching down he moved his arm under her bottom and lifted her up to carry her back to their bed. Being that the bed was in the corner of the room and he slept on the outside endge it meant that whenever she went to get up he knew.   
  
Stiffening you looked to the door and opened your mouth, "I... outside..sssoo...You...sleep.."  
  
"No."   
  
"... "  
  
"I will not allow you to deal with these fears on your own." Sitting on the bed he moved the pillow and laid down, moving her so she laid curled up in his side, their bodies still close. Pulling the duvet over them he moved his hand to her hip and started rubbing up and down her side. "What happened?" he asked, his voice low. When she didn't answer right away he dipped his chin, "Y/n." he said, his voice deep.   
  
Closing your eyes you nuzzled you face into his chest, desperate for his comfort. "You were him, Don."   
  
Gritting his teeth he continued moving his hand, up and down her side, feeling her silk nightshirt under his fingers. "He's not here darling, only me. No one is going to hurt you my little star." he told her in a deep, low voice. Bending down he kissed her head, feeling her burrow herself deeper into his chest and her fingers grip at his side. He could feel her still shaking as her past terrorized her, she was not going to be able to just drift back to sleep. He knew she would normally go outside, sit alone with her dreams plaguing her until she was so exhausted she could finally go back to sleep, either that or it was morning. It was no surprise that she was lacking sleep after some rather rough nights when he had been living with her. What she needed was a distraction. Rubbing his hand down to her hip he pushed his fingers under her night shirt, slowly rubbing his hand up the smooth skin of her back.   
  
When you felt his warm hand rub your bare back you sucked in a breath. He went slow, his hand never once rounding to touch your breast. Having snapped your eyes open when he first touched you you slowly felt them close again, your breathing evening out. His left arm was still wrapped around your body, holding you to him and making you feel safe. Focusing on his hand and the sound of his heartbeat you sighed.   
  
It took a little while but soon enough he felt her body relax into his, felt her deep breaths fan out over his chest. Adjusting himself a little to get comfortable he used his sand to move one of the pillows against the wall on her side of the bed behind her back, keeping her close to him. Kissing the top of her head he let his hand come to a stop between her shoulder blades and thought back at what happened earlier tonight.

He had screwed up, horribly. She had been happy, laughing and attempting to enjoy their time alone off ship. To simply play with him. But what does he do, he scolds her for it, ridiculous her for not acting her age, for not being some stick in the mud like him. _Fucking idiot!_ While no he didn't care for water and he was rather irritated by everything else that was no reason to loose his temper with her. The look in her eyes, he had watched the joy fade from them when he snapped at her. He had discovered that his y/n was quick to discourage when it came to him. He didn't quite know why yet but she took all of his reactions to heart. Just the other day he had carelessly mentioned that he didn't much care for the rose scented soap she had picked out, the next time he went into the bathroom he saw it gone. A song she listened to on occasion that he found annoying, never to be heard again. Now it worried him that he he may have ruined any chance of her attempting to play with him in the future. The idea of playing around with someone had never crossed his mind before now. Before Y/n all of his relationships had been strictly business, they were simply there for his entertainment which consisted of nothing but sex or to accompany him to an event. Now though he wanted more, he wanted a real relationship with her, one that included all of those things he had previously thought childish and pointless. His y/n was a kind hearted woman who loved to smile and enjoy life itself. It was those characteristics that he loved about her and he would not deprive her of those things. No, for her and only her he would learn to let go. Kissing the top of her head in a silent promise to do better, he closed his eyes and joined her in sleep. 

...................................

"Come on Daz please?" you asked, giving the ever serious man your best puppy dog eyes. 

"No." he answered. 

"Why not?"

"Because I intend to keep my head attached to my body as long as possible and if you so much as get a scratch on you he will show no mercy to the person responsible." 

Letting out a long sigh you dropped your cheek to your palm and looked out over the deck. 

"You could ask him to teach you, he does know how." Daz suggested, adjusting the fishing rod he was holding. 

Biting your lip you looked down. 

Glancing her way he saw the woman had her brows furrowed, "Are you afraid of him?" he asked.

Snapping your eyes up you quickly shook your head, "No, NO of course not it's just... well I just don't want to bother him or seem needy."

Humming he looked back out to the sea, "Crocodile is a difficult man and very set in his ways but I can assure you that you will never seem needy to him. He is your soulmate, he will do anything in his power to make you happy or give you whatever you desire."

Thinking on Daz's words for a moment you took a deep breath before nodded, "Thank you Daz." Seeing him nod you stood from the railing and headed up to you and Crocodile's shared room. Opening the door you saw him sitting at his desk looking over the paper. Smoke floated above him, he was smoking, that means he was relaxing, maybe you should come back later...

"Something bothering you darling?" he asked, his voice low and deep.

Licking your lips you moved over to him, rounding the desk and watching as his eyes drifted to you, "I want to talk to you about something." 

She was nervous, he could hear it in her voice. Seeing her look down he dropped the paper to the desk and used his sand to bring her closer to him. As soon as she was in arm's reach he wrapped his arm around her and lifted her up and over the arm of his chair, sitting her in his lap. 

Being sat in his lap you felt your neck and face heat up, you had never sat in his lap before. Feeling him gently adjust your legs with his hook to lay them over his lap before resting the arm on your thighs, you looked up to him, noticing how even sitting in his lap you were still not eye level with him. He looked calm, the cigar hanging lazily from his lips and his silver eyes staring down at you fondly. 

"What is it you would like to talk about dear." He asked, enjoying the closeness. Since the incident at the spring she hadn't made a move to touch him, his previous thoughts correct. That had been three days ago and he was feeling rather touch starved, their intimacy to begin with nothing more than light kissing and touching. 

Thinking about how to ask you finally decided to make it quick, like a band-aid. "I want to learn how to fight... I want you to teach me how to protect myself and be useful. I don't want to be a liability or some damsel in distress for you and the rest of the crew to have to worry about." 

Out of everything she could have wanted to talk about that had not been what he was expecting. Laying his head back against the chair he took a long drag from his cigar and twirled her hair around his finger. "You have been thinking this over for some time." he stated. When she nodded he hummed, it would help ease his worry if he knew she could better protect herself if he wasn't there. "Alright..." he said and saw her smile, "On two conditions..." he added and saw her look to him.Removing his cigar he placed it in the ashtray. "One, You will obey me, if I say that's enough or I tell you to do something you do it. I will not have you getting hurt or putting yourself in danger do you understand me?" he asked and saw her nod. "Words darling." 

Sighing you looked up into his eyes, "Yes Captain." you said in a sweet, innocent voice.

Narrowing his eyes he felt a warmth settle in his lower abdomen but said nothing. "Two, you will not hold anything against me, I can promise you I will not be the kindest teacher but I do not want you thinking ill of me."

Grinning you leaned against him, laying your head on his chest and looking up at him, "I promise I will still cuddle up to you at night and let you rub out any soreness you cause." you said.

Chuckling at her returning playfulness he wrapped his arm around her and stroked her cheek with his knuckles. "Three.."

"You said two..."

"I'm adding another, pros to being the captain...You will allow me to take you out on a date when we arrive at the next island." he said, his voice deeper than it was before. 

Smiling you looked into his eyes and nodded, "Deal." you said before you pushed your lips to his. 

Shocked that she had kissed him and not the other way around as it normally was it took him a few seconds to process the situation. Once he had he closed his eyes and held the side of her face in his hand as he kissed her back. Pushing his left arm up to her hip he pulled her a little closer to him, turning her to face him a bit more so he could better touch her with his hand. At first they did nothing but pepper each other with small pecks but after a minute he dipped his head more and slowly attempted to deepen their kiss. Gently pulling down on her chin with his thumb he flicked his tongue out to tease her bottom lip, silently asking permission. She seemed hesitant at first and he was about to pull away when he felt her lips part, granting him the access he so desired. Keeping his pace slow so he wouldn't overwhelm her he rolled his tongue into her mouth. It took everything he had not to plunge his tongue straight down her throat but he kept a gentle approach the only sign of his primal needs being the deep growl that left his throat when he finally tasted her. 

It came as no surprise to you that his tongue would be huge like the rest of him. In no time at all the hot muscle was filling the entirety of your mouth and he had you clinging to him like he was the only thing holding you from floating away. His arms held you tightly to him with your head resting in the nook of his right arm and his heavy hook against your right hip, moving under you to tilt you towards him and soon you are melting into him. He tasted like cigar smoke and whiskey but you didn't mind because it was just...perfectly him.

There wasn't any part of her mouth he left unexplored, making a mental map to be remembered forever he groaned at the sweet taste of honey from her tea. Flicking her tongue with his he gave her the encouragement she needed to join him, telling her it was okay. He knew she was nervous but she didn't have to be he would teach her how to kiss just as well as he would to use a sword. As soon as her tongue began dancing with his own he hummed in approval, felt her hands grip his shirt at the sleeve and chest. There would no doubt be wrinkles but he couldn't give a damn. As soon as he started to feel his pants become a little uncomfortable there was a knock at the door. 

"Hey Capt'n somethin' weird is goin' on with the log pose..."

A deep growl left his throat before he pulled away and let you breath. Your lungs were thankful to have the much needed air but your lips missed his. Still though his arms held you tightly. 

"I am going to kill the lot of them." he growled and heard her giggle. 

"Be nice." 

Grunting he looked down at her and grinned at the sight of her slightly red lips, he wondered how they would look once he really got a hold of them. Brushing back her hair he kissed her temple, "Why don't you go ahead and take a shower and I will go deal with those idiots." 

"Mmm-kay."

Kissing her one last time he stood and sat her on her feet. Watching her walk away he dropped his eyes to her ass and felt his cock give another twitch. Gritting his teeth he downed the rest of his drink and headed out to see what was going on with the log pose. 

..........................

Hearing the bathroom door open you looked over and saw Crocodile walking out, finished with his own shower. He was wearing nothing but his green silk sleeping pants. Peeking up over the top of your phone at him you swallowed hard at the sight of his bare chest and back. With all of the layers he wore it was hard to tell sometimes how built his body was. Feeling the unfamilar warmth between your thighs you quickly snapped your eyes back down before he could catch you checking him out. 

Tossing the towel to the chair he turned off the oil lamp, leaving the room in the dim light of the candle on the dresser. Looking towards the little woman lounged back on the large bed he grinned at the sight of her smooth legs, clad in one of his old dress shirts and her black panties he was more than pleased at the amount of skin he was able to see. While he had seen her nude already it had only been for a second and when her body had been covered in blood, bruises and welts, it was a sight he never wanted to see again. Crawling onto the bed he laid beside her, curling his arm around her and pulling her up into hsi side. Looking down at the screen of her phone he rose a brow at the words on covering the screen. "What are you doing little star?" he asked.

"Reading." you answered simply. 

Humming he caresed her arm, "What are you reading?"

"The Outlander series, I had forgot I downloaded them onto my phone until I was looking through it the other day and found them. Kinda sucks though because there I only have eight of them and I know she planned for ten so I won't know the ending." you told him then shrugged, "I'll just make up my own ending." you smiled. 

Twirling her hair around his finger he closed his eyes. "What are they about?"

"This 20th-century British nurse Claire Randall, who time travels to 18th-century Scotland and finds adventure and romance with the Highland warrior Jamie Fraser." you told him, blushing a bit. "It's pretty good so far, different than the other books I have read. Honestly the only reason I downloaded them to begin with is because the woman at the bookstore back in my town told me I should give it a try and wouldn't keep pestering me about it every time I went in there." 

"What makes it so different from the other books you read?" 

Licking your lips you bit your lip, "Um well it's..." feeling your face and neck heat up you felt him shift some and knew he was looking down at you. 

Cracking one eye open he saw a blush about her cheeks and smirked. "Are you reading a steamy book darling?" he asked. 

"No...No. I..maybe. There might be a few heated moments..." you said. 

Oh this was entertaining... "Let me see." he said, moving to take the phone from her. 

"NO!" you said, hiding the phone from him. Feeling him try and grab it still you rolled over and hold it under you. 

Grinning he followed after her, enjoying how flustered she was becoming. Pushing his hand under her he tried to wiggle the phone out of her grip. "Come now sweetheart, your Captain is giving you a order..."

"The Captain can kiss my butt." you grumbled. 

Laughing he wrapped his arm around her, "I can assure you I have no issues with that." he told her and saw her cheeks heat up even more. Wrapping his leg around hers he managed to grab the phone from her and held her still as he started reading over the words. Not seeing anything interesting at first he kept scrolling until he got to the good stuff. 

_"You're mine, mo duinne," he said softly, pressing himself into my depths. "Mine alone, now and forever. Mine, whether ye will it or no." I pulled against his grip, and sucked in my breath with a faint "ah" as he pressed even deeper. "Aye, I mean to use ye hard, my Sassenach," he whispered. "I want to own you, to possess you, body and soul."_

He felt his own cheeks heat up a bit at the words, even though there were a few he didn't understand. When he felt a slight pain in his arm he looked down and saw her biting him. Chuckling he placed the phone down and nuzzled his nose into her neck, "Naughty girl." he teased and heard her groan in embarrassment. "I am only teasing you my little star." he told her, brushing back her hair and placing a kiss to her jaw. 

Relaxing into his body you wrapped your arms around his left one and felt his right hand rub up and down your bare thigh, the heat from his hand warming your whole body. That warming between your legs was back, making you close your eyes. "Croc..." you said softly and heard his deep hum, felt it along your back. "Thank you for.. for waiting, for being patient, I know it's not fair to you but I..." 

"What was it I told you before?" he asked, cutting her off. When she said nothing he hummed, "I told you I would help you heal slowly... that means that we will not rush things, that I will not rush you." Moving up to her hip he gave a light squeeze and closed his eyes as his manhood hardened, "I want you y/n, I want to make you mine but not until you are ready because I will not enjoy it unless you do as well." Taking a deep breath he used his sand to put out the flame on the candle and pulled the duvet over the both of them, moving his hand to wrap around her middle he kissed the crown of her head. "Goodnight starlight." 

"Goodnight." you whispered, turning your head to kiss his arm. 


	14. Chapter 14

"...so make sure you..."

"Croc..."

"Would you let me finish, you said you would listen..." he growled, looking to her. 

Crossing your arms over your chest you sighed and leaned back against the tree as he went about telling you about guns and how to use them. He showed you how to load one and how to aim it all the while you bit your tongue. Watching him toss out an old can to the empty beach and use his devil fruit powers to set it up you watched as he aimed his pistol, explaining what to do before he shot it, hitting it dead on. 

Reloading it he looked down at her. "Now it is your turn, I will move the bottle a little closer and then back it up sl.."

Having enough you grabbed the pistol before he could finish his sentence. Using your other hand you grabbed the neck of the bottle and tossed it into the air before holding the gun up and shooting it mid air. Turning back around to face him you saw him looking to you in shock for only a moment before his brows lowered. "You already know how to shoot. Why didn't yo.."

"I did try. You told me to let you finish." you said with raised brows. 

Narrowing his eyes he saw her grin up at sweetly like she always did. Huffing he took the pistol from her and stuck it back in the holster on his side. 

"Now can I go shopping?" you asked. Having arrived on the island you were super excited to go spend some of the money you had won in your pool games but your dear Gator quickly wrapped his sand around you and stopped you from leaving, claiming that he was starting your training. Now that it was over though you were determined to go buy the things you desired. The lone beach was a ways away form the city but from what you had seen it looked rather industrial with tall towers and such.

"What is it you want to buy?" he asked. 

"Different things.. A pot for one.... and some soil." you told him as he moved closer to you, backing you up into the tree you had been leaning against earlier. 

"What are you planting?" he asked, pinning her to the tree and rubbing his hand down her side to grip her hip. 

Feeling him grab your hip in his large hand and begin messaging it you swallowed hard, you had quickly learned that your hip was a rather sensitive to his touch and judging by his smirk he knew it too. Licking your lips you craned your neck to look up into his silver eyes. "I have some apple seeds that I got to sprout, I want to plant them and see if I can keep them growing." You told him, keeping your voice as even as possible. 

Humming deeply he bent down to brush his nose up her jaw, "You enjoy gardening?"

"Yes." you chirped when his lips brushed against your neck. 

Smirking at her reaction he moved up to kiss her temple before leaning back up. "Did you forget that you are to accompany me on a date tonight?" he asked.

"No that's why I want to go ahead and go do what I want to do." you assured him. 

"Very well. What kind of pot would you like?" he asked as he moved to start walking towards the busy town.

Shocked you raised your brows, "You are coming with me?" 

Stopping he looked back down at her, "Is that a problem?" 

Smiling you shook your head, "Not at all." 

................................

It really shouldn't have surprised you that he wouldn't let you pay for the pot and soil for your apple seedlings, even when you assured him that you could he wouldn't have it. Walking out of the gardening store you saw him call over Ori who had been walking down the street some, telling the young boy to carry your supplies back to the ship. "Thank you Ori." you said and saw the young boy smile before stuttering out a 'You're welcome Miss y/n.'

"What is next on your list?" he asked, walking beside her down the street. 

"Well I wanted to get some oil and some other stuff." you said with a light shrug. "Nothing exciting really." 

"What kind of oil?" He asked while he looked around, trying to spot a specific store. 

"Um I don't know, I don't really know what is here. I like eucalyptus." 

Making a mental note of it he nodded as his eyes located what he was looking for. "I see. Well there looks to be a shop there that would sell that, why don't you go look around and I will meet you there in a moment." he told her, dropping his eyes back down to her. 

Grinning you nodded, not minding the time to shop alone, there were a few item you knew you wouldn't be able to look for with him beside you or at least not yet. "Okay." Going your separate ways you went into the shop he had pointed out and quickly found what you had been looking for along with some oil for your hair ot help fight against the dryness from the sea. Grabbing a few makeup items as well you paid for your things, thanking the woman and wishing her a good day before walking towards the door but stopping mid step when something behind the counter caught your eye. Looking at the dark blue bottle with gold lettering you read, 'Sensual massage oil for erotic couple's massage.' Well he had complained about a stiff back the other morning... Biting your lip you looked back to the woman, "I'll take that as well." you told her and saw her give you a grin while your face turned beet red.

Getting back out to the street you looked around but didn't see him. Crocodile still must be doing his own thing. That was fine by you because there was still a few things you wanted to buy. Seeing a woman's clothing store you walked over. You were nervous about your date tonight, you had never been on one. What did you wear? Where was it he wanted to go anyway? He always dressed so nicely so maybe you should pick out something nice as well. Biting your lip you moved over to the dress section. Having never worn anything like these before you quickly found yourself lost. Groaning you dropped the dress you had been looking at and went to move to the next rack when a voice spoke up behind you.

"Can I help you find something?"

Turning around you saw a man standing there, he was dressed almost as well as your Croc... almost. Taking a deep breath you gave him a small smile and nodded.

...............................

Happy with his purchase he walked out of the jewelry store, looking down at the earrings for his darling and grinning at how perfect they were. At first he had planned on getting her a pair of gold hoops to match the one he wore in his right ear but then he saw these and knew he had to have them for her. Tucking the velvet box away in his vest pocket he looked around before heading over to the cosmetics shop she had went into. It took only one glance over the store to realized she wasn't here and he bit down on his cigar. He had told her he would meet her there. Stepping out he looked to his left and didn't see her but before he could look back right he heard her speak. 

"Hey." 

Looking down he saw her standing there with a rather large brown shopping bag. Raising a brow he leaned over some, trying to peak inside but she quickly moved it behind her. Raising his eyes to her he saw her giving him a playful glare. 

"No peaking." you told him. 

Huffing he began walking back to the ship with her. "I do believe I said I would meet you in the shop..."

"Well we met outside of the shop."

"Y/n." He growled. This was a very busy place and he didn't like the idea of her being alone, not when danger could be lurking in every shadow. 

"Nothing happened, I had some more stuff to get and I didn't really want you to see it anyway so it worked out." you said honestly. 

Raising his brows he looked down at her. "Hiding things are we?" he asked in a teasing voice. 

"Maybe." you grinned,"What did you have to go do?" you asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Don't worry about it." 

"Who's hiding things now?" you asked with a giggle and heard him chuckle. 

...........................

Once you had arrived back at the ship Crocodile had left you to get ready for your date while he went and finished up his captain-ly duties. Taking a long shower you washed your hair, body and shaved before getting out and rubbing your new oil into your skin leaving it silky. Looking to the folded lace on the vanity you felt your cheeks heat up. Lifting the feather like material you quickly pulled the on before you could chicken out. Looking in the mirror you swallowed hard at the sight of the lace bra and panty set the man at the store had talked you into getting when you told him your dress was for a date.

_"Oh a date! You must get these as well, I can assure you your man will love you in this."_

You hadn't the nerves to tell him that 'your man' would most likely not see you in them tonight but if there was a chance of him seeing you you would rather it be in something nice. Peaking out into the cabin you saw it was still empty, the door locked as well. Walking over to your bag on the bed you saw a large box with piece of paper sitting on top of it and furrowed your brows before lifting it up. 

_'While you look stunning in everything, perhaps you could do me the honor of seeing you in this.'_

Gently setting the paper to the side you slowly lifted the lid from the box and gasped. Licking your lips you pulled the black dress up and looked it over. But.. this was... how? Your mind was spinning in circles as you looked at the dress you had been captivated by in the storefront window back in Sabaody. Smiling largely you moved to put it on, taking notice of the black heels to go with it, he really was something wasn't he. Giggling lightly you took a deep breath before finishing up.

He had been standing out on the deck, looking out over the sea when he heard the door to his cabin open. Turning around slowly he had to quickly catch his cigar as it almost fell from his mouth. He knew the dress would look good on her but damn. The black silk fit her body lovely, showing off her womanly curves along with a good amount of skin that looked not a bit trashy. The thin straps and criss-crossing over the chest made his eyes dart to the sand glass bonding mark on her breastbone, the mark that she was his. He hadn't been able to see it much, she never wore clothes that allowed the mark to be seen and as much as he wanted to look at he hadn't said anything. Glancing to the high slit up her left leg he swallowed hard and quickly snapped his eyes back up to her beautiful face, showing how incredibly nervous she was. Making the four steps over to her he couldn't hide his grin. Curling his knuckle under her chin he lifted her eyes to his, noticing the lightest makeup on her face, accenting her natural beauty and not covering it like some women did. "You look absolutely breathtaking." he told her in a low voice and grinned more when a bright pink tinted her cheeks. 

Taking in a much needed breath you smiled up at him, "Well then at least I know I come close to you handsome." you told him. Getting up on your tip toes even with heels on you pulled lightly on the lapel of his jacket. He must have got the hint because he leaned down enough for you to press a soft kiss to his lips. "Thank you for the dress and shoes." 

Stunned a little by her compliment he bit down on his cigar as he felt the back of his neck heat up. While yes he had changed into a nicer shirt and had even decided to wear an tie and jacket with his vest, the fact that she called him handsome made him feel good. Leaning down when she tugged on his lapel he met her lips in a soft kiss.

Hearing him hum you grinned. "Are you ready to go?" you asked. 

Brushing back her hair very carefully with his hook he looked over her bare ears and tilted his head. "Just one more thing." Reaching into his breast pocket he grabbed the velvet box and opened it in front of her. "I can not be the only one with shiny accessories." he told her with a grin. 

Looking down at the box you felt your eyes go wide a bit. A beautiful pair of drop earrings laid in the box on the royal blue cushion. Diamonds in the shape of eight pointed stars set in silver. Snapping your eyes back up to him you saw him grinning confidently. Opening your mouth and closing it you swallowed hard and shook your head. "But I...I don't have anything nice to give you and you already bought the dress and the shoes and..." you told him, feeling guilty now that you couldn't get something expensive for him.

Furrowing his brows he placed the curve of his hook under her chin and forced her eyes to his, "You my dear are horrible at understanding the concept of a gift..." Seeing her go to speak he dipped his chin more, "I do not give you things because I expect things in return. I give you things because I enjoy it and..." he stiffened when he realized what he was about to say. Seeing her brow lower a bit he cleared his throat. "You are my soulmate after all." he said, quickly thinking of something else. When she smiled he felt himself relax a little bit, thinking she had bought it.

"Thank you, they... all of this is beautiful." you told him sincerely. Seeing him push the earrings towards you you smiled as you took them out and carefully put them in your ears. Watching him pocket the case, no doubt for you to put them back in later you grinned up at him and rose a brow, "Any chance you will let me pay for dinner?"

Standing back straight he smiled down at her with his own raised brow, "Not a chance." Holding out his arm for her to take he led her to the high end restaurant he had made reservations at. 

.............................

Looking over the fancy restaurant you stared at the massive chandlers, bet they were a bitch to clean. The floor was just as shiny with tables covered in white tablecloths, set with expensive dining-wear that made you not want to touch in in fear you would break it. Everyone here looked high class, fancy clothes and super shinny jewelry that shinned almost as much as the crystal goblet in front of you. 

He couldn't help but find her child like wonder amusing. She hadn't stopped looking at everything since they had gotten here. "Have you decided what you would like to eat tonight?" he asked her. 

Snapping your eyes back to him you blushed a bit before looking down to the menu that you had only opened before your eyes started dancing around the grand dining room. Biting the inside of your lip as you took in the price of the dishes you tapped your thumb against the page. Even the chicken was expensive, damn. Maybe you could just go for a salad, looking down to the salad section you found one that was decently priced. 

Watching her look over the menu he saw her mouth move a little, she was biting the inside of her lip. Unsure, anxious. Seeing her eyes dart down to the bottom of the menu he looked at his own and saw that was the salad section. Raising his brow he looked across to her again. "You are not getting a salad." he told her in a stern voice. 

Looking up at him you opened your mouth but saw him look to you and raise his chin.

"Get something you want. Anything you want." Seeing her look down with her brows still furrowed he took a deep breath, "They have sushi, you told me you like good sushi." 

Grinning at the fact he remembered that you looked to the sushi section and saw they had a tray of different kinds. Closing your menu just as the waiter came over you watched as he poured you both a glass of wine and then asked if you both had decided. Telling him what you wanted you gave him your menu and told him thank you.

She had missed the man's reaction to her simple words but he hadn't. Clearly the man was not used to customers being as polite as his y/n. She was kind to everyone, it didn't matter who you were or what social class you were. 'I treat people how I would like to be treated.' her words rung in his head. 

"You are welcome my lady." the waiter said before walking away. 

"You are as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside." he told her in a low voice. Seeing her cheeks turn pink again he grinned. 

...........................

Dinner was amazing, both the food and the company. It was nice to have the alone time with Croc off ship. Now the two of you were walking through the quiet city, towards the park area. With the help of the wine you were relaxed, talking with Crocodile about things that would normally make you turn red. 

Holding her small hand in his with her other arm wrapped around his, he grinned softly as he glanced down at her. "So why did you punch this boy in the face?"

"Because he kept trying to lift up my dress, I told the teacher but she didn't do anything so I took matters into my own hands." you told him and heard him chuckle. 

"What happened then?" 

"I had to stay in for recess for the next week." you told him and then smiled, "But he didn't do it again so it was worth it." 

Chuckling he led her towards the park, it wasn't a large park, more of a area with trees and a few picnic tables or benches. But his darling wanted to walk through it and so he obliged. It was on the way back to the ship anyway. Walking through the path he saw her smile at the sight of the duck family. 

"Did you name your bananawanis?" you asked him.

Taken off guard by her question he brought up his hook to scratch the side of his head, feeling his neck heat up a bit. "yes." he said in low voice. 

Smiling you looked up at him. "Well go on, what were they?" you teased. 

Seeing a picnic table he quickly scooped her up and sat her down on it. Caging her in he leaned down and looked her in the eye, seeing her grinning playfully. "One, two, three, four." he grumbled as he pushed his lips to hers. 

"Ha. Liar." you giggled around his mouth, moving your hands up to grip his shoulders.

Kissing his way down across her jaw before getting to her neck. Peppering the thin skin of her neck in light kisses he felt her hands grip his shoulders a little harder and grinned. Wanting to test his limits he moved his mouth to just above her jugular and parted his lips a small amount to place an open mouth kiss on her sensitive flesh. 

Gasping softly, your eyes snapped open before fluttering back close. His mouth was so hot and you could feel the heat traveling down to rest between your thighs again. 

When she didn't say anything he took that as a sign he could continue. He still kept things slow, kissing all the way up to the curve of her jaw and breathing in her delicious scent. He enjoyed how she chose natural scents instead of those overbearing perfumes some of his past lays had been soaked in. Y/n's skin tasted clean, like her. He wasn't gagging or fighting off a sneeze. It was all just her and he loved it. Nipping gently at a certain spot she had seemed more responsive to he felt her fingers curl into his jacket and a small whimper leave her making him growl lightly. Opening his mouth to do it again he froze, the hairs on the back of his neck sticking up. Something was wrong. 

When he stiffened and didn't do any more you furrowed your brows. As he pulled away some you felt worry fill you, your hands starting to slip from his shoulders. Had you done something wrong? Did you somehow mess up the moment? "Croc did I.. did I do something wrong?" you asked in a whisper.

"Drop your heel to the ground." he told her in a low voice. 

Hearing how serious his voice was you did as he said and wiggled your foot to make your high heel slip from your foot and fall to the ground. Watching him step back and crouch down to reach for your shoe you saw his eyes close, his hand moving to lay flat on the ground. 

He couldn't feel anyone, there was no movement but he knew someone was there. The trees. Grabbing her shoe he stood back straight, removing her other one on the way to hand to her. 

Taking your heels from him when he held them out to you you saw him still serious looking, his eyes softening only a little as he looked to you. 

"Come on darling, time to go back to the ship. It's getting late." he told her, letting his voice go a little higher to seem normal. Scooping her up bridal style he felt her one hand come to grip his lapel. Walking down the path he could have sworn he heard the sound of a camera but there was no flash. Arriving back on ship he saw Daz sitting up in the crow's nest and gave him a look that he knew the man understood perfectly when he gave a small nod. Carrying her into their cabin he finally looked down at her. 

"Croc what's wrong?" you asked. 

Sitting her on the bed he took her heels and dropped them to the floor before removing his hook and jacket. "Nothing you need to worry yourself with my little star." he told her, giving her a small grin to try and assure his words were true. He was determined not to let whatever that was ruin their night so before she could ask him anymore questions he claimed her lips once again. 

Kissing him back you let your eyes slip close and lifted your hands to lay flat on his wide chest. His warm hand moved to your back, the open back of your dress allowing you to feel his skin on yours as he guided you to lay down, his own massive body following. You were thankful that the thought to clean off the bed before leaving earlier turned out to be a good decision. 

Laying above her he held his weight off of her with his left forearm situated above he head while his right hand massaged her hip. Rolling his tongue around her mouth he felt as her nimble fingers unbuttoned his vest, his hand moving from her to unloosed the tie around his neck. He had been expecting her to stop there but she didn't, the cool air of the room hitting his chest as she unbuttoned his shirt as well. 

You felt only the movement of him switching arms as he removed the clothing from his upper half, his mouth never breaking from yours. Being able to lay your hands on his bare skin you felt that warmth between your legs grow to an inferno. While yes he slept shirtless the two of you had never been kissing like this while his top was bare. 

His cock was already becoming uncomfortable in his pants, the taste of her mouth and the feel of her soft hands on him making him want more. Need more. Kiss his way back down to her neck he picked up where he had left off earlier. Lathering her neck and throat in open mouth kisses he started sucking and nipping her skin until he heard her begin letting out small gasps, her fingers gripping his shoulders a little harder. Giving a particularly strong suck he trailed his hand up her side to the thin strap of her dress, giving a small tug. The stiffening of his woman under him brought him out of his sexual daze enough to realize what he was doing. Squeezing his eyes shut and knitting his brow as he tried to push back his own desire he licked his lips and shook his head. "Forgive me my dear I... we will stop here." he said, his voice deep and husky with pent up lust.

Feeling him go to move you panicked and gripped his shoulders, trying to keep him where he was. "I don't want to..I mean...I..." you were sure your heart was about to beat out of your chest. Licking your lips you closed your eyes, "...I don't want to stop...not yet... not unless you... I mean if that's okay with yo..." Cut off by his lips slamming into yours you sighed and rubbed one of your hands up to the back of his neck, feeling his hair between your fingers. 

Kissing her for a moment he broke away and in a whirl of sand he had moved them so he was sitting on the edge of the bed while she was standing between his knees. 

Smacking his shoulder you looked at him, noticing his hair disheveled with a flushed color about his face. "I do believe I asked for a warning the last time you did that." you said in a light voice. 

Chuckling he pulled her to him and kissed over her windpipe as he unzipped the lower back of the dress over her ass. "Where is the fun in that?" Keeping his left arm wrapped around her middle to hold her close to him he hooked his finger under the thin strap and gently moved it over one shoulder then the other before the feather light silk fell down to pool around her ankles. Pulling back from where he had been kissing her neck and throat he glanced down and felt his breath catch in his throat. Perfect, she was perfect. He just could make out two pink nipples in the moon lit room. "I could die a happy man." he mumbled out and he didn't have to look to her face to know she was as red as a cherry. Continuing south he saw the her panties and licked his lips as his cock throbbed. Black lace, oh how he loved black lace, even more now than ever. 

You were sure your cheeks were on fire as he stared and you couldn't help but become a little uncomfortable. You knew he had no doubt seen plenty of gorgeous women in his lifetime and only hoped you were half as pleasuring to the eye as they were. 

Noticing her curl up just a small amount he used his left arm to tug her flush to him, slamming his lips to her again as his tented pants brushed against her abdomen. What easier way to tell her he enjoyed what he saw than to let her feel his arousal herself.

Oh my God. Okay so he definitely like what he saw. It was hard to get a feel of him like this but you were pretty sure he was huge... the rest of him was anyway. Moving your mouth with his you felt his hand rub up and down your side, his left arm dipping under your ass as he lifted you up. 

He felt her tense but continued kissing her as he moved her to sit in his lap, her knees bending on either side of his hips. With their sexes now only being divided by their clothing he stroked the soft skin of her back for a moment. Getting her comfortable with this for now he felt her hands move to his shoulder and chest. As soon as he thought she was ready he slipped his hand up to cup her breast in his palm, his whole hand just about covered the entirety of her chest. Gently palming her fleshy mound he felt her gasp into his mouth and trailed kisses down to her neck. "Is this alright?" he asked her in a quiet voice and felt her nod. "Words." 

Swallowing thickly you breathed out a quiet yes and heard him growl lightly. 

Sucking on her neck and nipping her skin he rolled her tit in his hand, she was quickly turning to putty in his arms and it made him feel good. It wasn't just the fact that he was arousing her it was the knowledge that she was trusting him with her worst fear. Holding her to him he turned them back over so she laid in the middle of their bed.

"Not really fair that I'm the only one in underwear..." you said, attempting to keep yourself grounded.

Chuckling he held himself up over her and kissed her cheek, "Do I honestly look like a man that wears underwear darling?" he said and saw her blush so hard he was sure all of her blood had went to her cheeks. "How about my shoes and socks?" he asked and saw her nod. Kicking of his shoes he heard them thump as they hit the floor but he paid them no mind while he toed off his socks leaving him only in his pants and belt. Staying low to her he kissed his way down, stopping to nibble on her collarbone before continuing to her breast. 

Your hands took leverage on his shoulder and head when his hot mouth moved to your chest. He sucked on your right nipple while his hand groped the other. In no time at all you felt a tightening in your lower abdomen and a warmth over your entire body. 

Pulling back he held the tip of her nipple between his teeth before releasing it and hearing her gasp. Glancing up at her he was graced with an amazing sight. Lust clouded his little star's eyes with a blush covering her cheeks and chest and her hair laying around her like a halo. In that moment he had wondered if he had died and went to heaven because she looked like an angel. Licking over the hardened pebble he glanced over to the mark between her breasts and felt a warming in his chest that had nothing to do with his hard on. Kissing the black mark he closed his eyes and rubbed his hand down her side to grip her hip, hooking his finger under the delicate lace. "Tell me if this is okay." 

Licking your lips you swallowed hard, "Yes." You could do this, you trusted him. 

Forcing himself not to just rip the things off of her he slowly pulled them down her legs, tossing them behind him to be dealt with at a later time. HE kept his eyes closed and his lips over her bonding mark as his hand moved to touch between her legs. Feeling her flinch and the muscles of her thighs tense up he looked up to her. "Y/n?" 

You knew what he was asking and looked into his silver eyes that were almost black with lust to see not annoyance there but concern and something else. "It's okay." wither you had said that to him or yourself you didn't know.

Kissing her bonding mark again he moved down her body, kissing over her sides and naval. Going to look down at her sex he felt her grab his bicep with a trembling hand. Instantly he froze and snapped his eyes back up to her face.

"Do..don't... You don't want to look down there." you told him your voice quivering.

"I can assure you I do little star.." he told her but saw her shake her head and close her eyes. Furrowing his brows he felt that strange feeling in his chest again. "Y/n.."

"I didn't.. there is something I didn't tell you..." you told him in a light whisper. "Sss...something he did..."

Hearing true fear in her voice he gently reached for her hand that had a death grip on his shoulder and pulled it to his lips to kiss it. Looking down her pelvis to her womanhood he saw red when his eyes fell to what it was she didn't want him to see. There on the left side of her womanly mound was the word whore. The five letters were branded into her skin with the W being the darkest. The whole word itself was only about three inches long and the O and R were barely there but still he felt his blood boil. Gritting his teeth so hard he thought he heard a crack he stared at the torture his beloved had been forced to endure. Hearing a small sniffle he looked up and felt his heart clench in his chest. 

His silence was answer enough, he didn't want you. Why would he? You were tainted, used, broken. The proof was there, branded into your skin, a constant reminder of what Don had done to you. Closing your eyes you turned your head to the side and felt a tear roll across the bridge of your nose. A delicate touch to the most hated part of your body made you freeze. At first you thought it was your imagination but then you felt it again and again. Cracking one eyes open you looked down your body and saw him kissing the area, his eyes closed and his black hair framing his face, tickling your hip. 

Kissing over every letter he looked up under his brows and saw her watching him, her wet eyes looking both confused and hopeful. "This does not define you." he told her in a deep voice. "Why were afraid for me to see it?" he asked even though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer. 

"It's ugly. I hate it... thought you would too. I thought... you wouldn't want me anymore..." you spoke in a whisper, dropping your eyes when just the thought alone made your eyes fill with more tears. 

Humming he moved to lay on his front between her legs. Pushing up his left arm he looked over the scars covering his wrist and going down his forearm some before looking to her with one brow raised, "Does this make you want me any less?... Or this?" he asked, tapping the nub on the bridge of his nose where the long scar spread across his face. When she shook her head he smiled softly, a smile that was only ever seen by her. "Do not ever presume that I will EVER stop wanting you, that I will EVER stop caring for you." Seeing her grin he moved his left arm back down to hold up his weight so that his right hand could move to stroke up her left leg from ankle all the way up to her thigh. "Would you like to continue, if you do not then we can stop here, you have already achieved so much tonight."

"NO!" You yelled and then quickly recovered when you saw his brows raise, "I mean I want to keep going." you said in a more quiet voice, seeing his lips lift up into a small smirk you blushed but didn't get a chance to respond before you were yanked down some, a little yelp escaping your lips that turned into a light moan when he licked the whole way up your slit. Slapping your hands over your mouth in embarrassment you heard him click his tongue. 

"No. I want to hear those pretty noises." he said, pulling her hands away from her mouth with his sand and holding them down to the bed as he made another long lap up her soaked core. Rubbing his hand up her thigh and to her sex he grinned at how wet she was already. "You are soaked little star and I have barely touched you." hearing her whine in embarrassment he chuckled. "I take it as a compliment." he told her before rubbing the tip of his finger over her entrance and slowly easing it inside. A breathy moan left her throat while a deep growl left his, she was so fucking tight and he only had one finger in her. She had a long way to go before she would be able to take him without him completely breaking her. It was still probably going to be uncomfortable until she got adjusted to his size. He was already constantly worried about hurting her, she was so much smaller than he was and now....The only giving him hope was that they were literally made for each other, that means that they had to be able to mate right?! 

Pulling on the sand holding you down you let out a soft moan as he worked his finger in and out of you. When he added another and then his mouth you felt your back arch a small amount and whimpered. That coil in your belly was winding up again making you feel like you were going to go crazy. 

She was close, he could feel her fluttering around his fingers as he pumped them in and out of her. Watching her back arch and her breasts heaving he grinned. If he could just... working one more finger into her he kissed her labia as it stretched around his digits. She let out a louder moan at the intrusion, her heels digging into his back. 

"Croc I...I.." you panted. 

"Go ahead little star, cum for me." he told her before curling his fingers and sucking on her clit.

A moan that turned into a silent scream left your dry lips and your fingers fisted into the bed sheets. Your vision when white and your body turned as taunt as a bow string. 

Watching her body tremble as it came down from ecstasy was now his favorite sight in the world. Slowing down his fingers and kissing her wet lips he eased her down from her high before pulling his sopping hand from her quivering core. Looking over her closed eyes, parted lips and messy hair, down to her heaving chest and perky nipples he swallowed hard as his cock was now painfully erect and threatening to burst through the seam of his pants. Pushing himself up slowly he wiped his mouth on the back of his arm and went to move from the bed when she grabbed his arm. Looking back down at her he saw her starring up at him with her head tilted a bit. Her eyes were heavy with sleep but there was also a small amount of lust there. Bending down he kissed her head, "Go to sleep darling." he said, standing back straight and turning to go to the bathroom. 

"What about you?" You asked, refusing to let go of his hand. 

"I'll take care of it, don't worry about m..."

Shaking your head you tugged on his hand but it didn't move him. Looking up into his eyes you saw them completely black with lust, his whole body tense. "Don't you want to..."

"I will not push you anymore tonight, you have already done far more than I thought possible and..."

"I trust you." you said quickly, interrupting him. Crawling over to the edge you sat on your knees and looked up at him, lacing your fingers with his one and moving the other to his chest to feel his heartbeat. Licking your lips you gave a soft smile, "I don't want to be afraid anymore. I don't want to relate sex with him. I want to feel free. I want to be yours." 

His body was tense, his heart hammering against his ribs. She wanted him, to be his. Breathing deeply he leaned down to kiss her lips trailing his fingers up her arm and over the side of her breast. "Are you certain? I cannot promise it will not be painful but I will be as gentle as possible." he said against her mouth. 

"Like I said, I trust you." you told him, kissing him before he could ask again. 

Letting out a heavy breath he dropped his hands to his pants and unbuckled them. Dropping them to his feet he stepped out of them, moving his hand to her chin to keep her from looking down, he needed her as relaxed as possible. Backing her up the whole way to the middle of the bed he crawled after her, pushing her head back to the pillows with his lips. Pushing his way between her legs he moved his left forearm by her head while his hand rubbed down her body to circle her clit again. Feeling her body give a jerk he grinned and dipped his fingers to scoop up some of her slick to coat his cock in. He would have to buy some lube. Stroking his shaft a few times he lined the head up with her entrance, rolling his tongue around her mouth to give her something else to focus on. Holding her hip with his hand he slowly started pushing in, a unstoppable growl vibrating his chest at the vice around his cock. Breaking from her mouth when he felt her tense he massaged her hip, "You have to relax, y/n relax." he said, his voice deep and commanding. 

Trying to do as he said you took deep breaths, focusing your mind on his mouth that was currently kissing your neck. 

After a few moments he felt her relax enough for him to push in a little more and then pull out. He would have to take this very, very slow. Kissing her neck he painstakingly eased his cock back into her, only being able to get the first third of it in before she tensed again. "Shhh, you are doing so good darling." he told her. 

Moving your hands to grip his back, your feet resting on the back of his thighs you gasped as his teeth bit down on your neck before his warm tongue was soothing it. 

Keeping up this torturous pace until she could finally take more of him he grit his teeth and grunted into her neck, thrusting his cock in and out of her. With only about an inch or so left he felt his control running thin. She just felt so good and smelt so good and sounded so good and fuck, he just wanted to take her like he wanted. Sucking and biting the nape of her neck he knew there would be marks of their coupling there tomorrow. She was gasping and crying out for him, adding oil to the flame. Gripping her hip hard he rolled his hips into hers, finally bottoming out and making a deep moan leave his lips that was muffled by her skin. 

Gasping when you felt his pelvis meet yours and his hand on your hip become painful you dug your fingertips into his shoulder blades and squeezed your eyes tight. It felt like he was in your womb. Barely being able to hear his deep moan in your neck you couldn't help but grin a little, the knowledge that you were able to make him feel just as good as he had made you feel indescribable. It was near about enough to make you forget the burning stretch between your legs.

Holding still he gave her the much needed time to adjust while also trying to regain his control. He peppered her neck and jaw with kisses and little nips, trailing his way back to her mouth. Rolling his tongue around her mouth he slid his hand up her side before grabbing her own hand and pinning it to the bed with his fingers laced between hers. Opening his eyes just a small amount he looked down at her, she was looking up at him as well with her lidded blue eyes and her kiss swollen lips. His beautiful soulmate. His little star. Lowering his forehead to hers he slowly pulled back before rocking his hips back into hers. 

The pain had all but vanished to leave you feeling simply full and warm. Whole. He kept a constant rhythm, never once breaking or pushing you for more even though you were sure he wanted to. Holding his hand, your fingers tightened when that coil in your pelvis started winding up again. He must have known because he moved his mouth back to your neck, sucking and nipping on that one spot that sent a tingling the whole way down your spine. 

She was close, her walls clenching around his cock and quickly sending him to his own climax. Snapping his hips into hers a little harder he caged her in with his body and bit down on her neck to muffle his groans and grunts. Hearing her cry out at a particularly harsh bite he quickly lapped over it with the flat of his tongue, "Cum with me. Come on my star, cum." 

That's all it took, your body quickly following his command. Crying out in bliss you felt your breasts push into his hard chest, felt his hand grip your hand for a second before moving down to hold your wrist in an iron grip. 

Pushing in as deep as he could he growled through gritted teeth as he filled her with his seed. Her pussy was milking him of all he had and he was sure he was about to go mad from pleasure. Never in his life had it felt this good and he didn't want it to end. 

Feeling his cock throbbing and then the pooling heat from his cum mixed with the afterglow of your second orgasm made your whole body shiver in ecstasy. All too soon though you felt it fading away, your body wore out from the incredible experience. Closing your eyes, you tilted your head to the pillow and slid your one arm from his back when you no longer had the strength to hold it up. The last thing you could register was his lips on your temple. 

He felt his lover's body go limp under him and knew she was done. Kissing up her neck and over her jaw he glanced down at her and saw her eyes closed. Grinning he brushed back her unruly hair and pressed a kiss to her temple. With a long sigh he decided it was time for their bodies to separate even though he was enjoying the closeness, the feel of her skin against his. Holding himself up with his forearm and used his hand to help push him up he hissed through his teeth as his cock slid free from her tight heat. Easing down her leg he managed to roll to his side of the bed. Taking a few seconds to catch his breath he stood and pulled the duvet over as best he could with her laying on it to keep her warm. Walking to the bathroom he lit the candle and turned on the water to start filling the tub. Looking to his reflection in the mirror he rose a brow at the tiny love marks on his neck and collarbone, he hadn't even felt her put them their. His hair was falling this way and that, his lips red and he could feel the scratches on his back from her nails. It was all well worth it though. 

Walking back out to the room he made his way over to the bed and couldn't help the small chuckle that left him when he looked down at his little woman. She had moved to curl up under the blanket, her wild red hair covering her face and spreading out all around her. His pillow was pulled to her face with her one arm flung over it and the slight rise and fall of the blanket told him she was sleeping soundly. As much as he hated to he knew it was best. Tugging the blanket from her he saw her legs pull up, trying to hold in the warmth he had taken away from her. Pulling the pillow out of her hold he heard her groan and smiled. Pushing his arms under her he scooped her up and felt her nuzzle his neck, her hair tickling his nose. 

You didn't want to be moved, why were you being moved. You just wanted to sleep. 

Hearing her whine and then grumble out something incoherent he huffed. "You will thank me for this in the morning." he told her. Stepping into the tub he held her with one arm as he lowered them down into the hot water. Settling down he leaned back and felt her let out a sigh, her face burying itself into his neck. Scooping up some of the water he brought it up to her shoulder, massaging out any soreness there. All too soon he felt her deep breaths fan out over his collarbone. Never before had he gave any of his past lays aftercare, they had served their purpose he had no further use of them. With her though, with his soulmate he would make her as comfortable as possible. While he had been as gentle as he could he knew there would no doubt be proof of their lovemaking on her body tomorrow. Lovemaking?! Not sex? Not fucking? Lovemaking! Looking down at her he took a deep breath and thought back to those three words he had been so close to speaking earlier tonight. Swallowing hard he laid his head back against the back of the tub, rubbing his hand up and down her back "What are you doing to me little star?"


	15. Chapter 15

_He didn't know where he was. Looking around the room he noticed it was dark, the only light coming from a small lamp on what appeared to be a sewing table. The room was cluttered, not a single space of wall left empty. There also didn't appear any windows. God awful orange colored carpet covered the floor. There was a staircase to the far left leading upwards. Furrowing his brows he went to go up them when he heard a soft humming. He knew that song... but where was it coming from? Following the source he walked around a stack of boxes that almost reached as tall as his head. What he saw made him freeze. There tucked away in the corner was a futon that was laid out as a bed, and a little shag rug with a young girl sitting on it. Her back was to him, her long red hair left down her back in waves that almost reached her bottom. Rounding her he saw she was drawing as she hummed. With his brows still knitted he crouched down in front of her and looked the girl over. She looked familiar. A floral print blue dress adorned her body, covering her legs and feet from where she was sitting with her legs crossed under her. Seeing the gold locket hanging from her neck he sucked in a deep breath, y/n? As she lifted her head from her drawing to reach forward to grab a different colored pencil he saw her face and frowned, her little lip was busted open. She looked to be about twelve or so and she didn't seem to be able to see him._

_Sitting down on the rug with her he watched her draw and listened to her hum. The picture she was drawing looked to be of a ship out at sea, actually it kind of looked like his ship... a lot like his ship. He could hear noises from the floor above, from the sound of it boys rough housing but his little star payed it no mind. When she adjusted her legs he saw what looked to be a bruise in the shape of a large hand print on her ankle and grit his teeth. A sudden noise that sounded like a door closing and then a male's deep voice yelling, 'Boys, to your rooms!' made his little star freeze, the colored pencils dropping from her hand and her eyes go wide in fear. In an instant he saw the young girl stand form the floor, dropping her supplies to the rug in front of him and look around frantically. Standing he stood there and watched as she grabbed her things and hid them away. Heavy footsteps could be heard from above and it only made him feel even more anxious as he watched her look about. When she opened a closet door he glanced inside to see it pretty full as it was but it didn't stop her from squeezing her way inside and into the corner behind clothes and such. As she shut the door quietly he was suddenly inside the dark closet with her, her small body back up into his front and her face turning to hide into his lower abdomen as another door from outside swung open, hitting a wall. She was trembling with fear and his breathing turned heavy as anger overtook him. His soulmate was terrified and he already had a good idea of what was causing it. Those heavy footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs and then walking around the room, growing closer and closer. When they stopped he felt her tense, her hands gripping the front of his shirt. Suddenly the door opened and a hand reached in to grab her hair._

_"No. NO!" she cried._

_Feeling her try holding onto him, her little hands attempting to wrap around him he growled and tried grabbing her but his hand went right through her. When she was ripped away from him he went to go attack the man but the closet door slammed in his face._

_"Why are you hiding from me girl?! And why is your hair down?!"_

_"I'm sorry!"_

_"Little whores that don't listen get punished."_

_Hearing the sound of a belt get pulled through the loops of pants he grabbed hold of the knob and tried opening it but it wouldn't budge. A loud slapping sound was heard followed by his little star screaming and begging before another slap was heard making him roar in rage. Banging on the door and slamming his body into it with all his strength it didn't open. What seemed like hours passed of him being able to do nothing but listen as y/n cried and sobbed for the man to stop. Knowing what it was she was being forced to endure he felt tears roll down his cheeks. Slamming his hand on the door he heard it grow silent , the sound of the man going back up the steps filling the room and then a door shutting. Trying the knob again he felt it turn and pushed the door open. Stepping out he looked over to the bed and saw her laying there, curled up into a ball and facing the wall. Her dress was hanging off her frame and the closer he got he noticed angry welts along the back of her thighs and disappearing beneath her dress. Standing over her he saw her tear filled eyes staring at the wall, her eyes looking almost dead. She was shaking and every few seconds her body would jump with left over sobs._

_Crawling into bed he layed behind her and wrapped his arm around her tiny body, attempting to shield her from the world. Pressing a soft kiss to the crown of her head he heard her start humming again although this time it sounded sad and weak. Watching her move her locket in front of her and open it he saw the arrow spin before it pointed towards him. Swallowing thickly he licked his lips and started singing along to the tune of her hum, his voice low and deep to lull her to sleep._

**_"Yo-hohoho Yo-ho-ho-ho_ **   
**_Yo-hohoho Yo-ho-ho-ho_ **

**_Gather up all of the crew,_ **   
**_It’s time to ship out Bink’s brew,_ **   
**_Wave good-bye,_ **   
**_But don’t you cry,_ **   
**_Our memories remain._ **   
**_Our days are but a passing dream,_ **   
**_Everlasting though they seem,_ **   
**_Beneath the moon,_ **   
**_We’ll meet again,_ **   
**_The wind’s our lullaby."_ **

............................

Snapping his eyes open he breathed heavily and looked up at the dark ceiling. His heart beat hard against his ribs as he remembered his dream. Feeling beside him he was met with nothing but an empty bed and felt himself panic. Sitting up he looked on the side of the bed closest to the wall and saw her gone. Quickly looking to the bathroom he saw the door open. He was on his feet in a second, looking around the room frantically for his soulmate. When he saw the room completely empty he grabbed his pants and started tugging them on when the door to his cabin opened. Snapping his eyes across the dark room he saw the small woman quietly closing the door and locking it. Using his devil fruit powers he flew over to her in a whirl of sand, "Where were you?" he asked, his voice deep and husky.

Letting out a small scream in surprise you had to quickly catch yourself from dropping your cup of tea but not before a few hot drops landed on your hand making you let out a hiss in pain. Shaking it off you looked up into his silver eyes and saw worry there along with something else you had never seen on him before. "Croc... what's wrong?" you asked, you voice still very hoarse sounding. 

"You were gone, where did you go this late at night?" he asked her. 

Knitting your brows you shook your head a little, "I just went to get some tea.... my throat is bone dry. Are you alrigh.."

Grabbing her cup in his hand and using his other arm to lift her up he carried her back to their bed. "I woke up and you weren't here. I forgot to make you drink something afterwards. You should have woken me and I would have went and got it for you." he told her, sitting on the bed with her straddling his lap. Checking her over he saw she was wearing his shirt from earlier, the buttons carelessly done up enough to keep her hidden. With the little moonlight entering the room he saw some of his love marks peeking out from under the shirt. 

Taking a sip of your tea you felt it burn a little when it coated your dry throat but you instantly sighed at how much better you felt. Seeing his eyes still scanning you, his left arm wrapped around you, holding you on him while his hand brushed back your hair tilted your head, he was acting a bit strange. Knowing he wouldn't outright tell you what it was you bit your lip holding your tea cup to him you saw him look to you, his eyes seeming to study you before he let out a long breath and took the cup from you to drink from it. 

Swallowing down the tea he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, using his sand to place the cup on the table he moved his hand to the buttons of the shirt and slowly started unbuttoning them. Clenching his teeth he blinked slowly, his eyes staying on her skin. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me most..."

"Croc what are you..."

"I wasn't there to protect you." Taking a deep breath he pushed the shirt from her shoulders, revealing her breasts to his eyes and also showing him that she was only wearing a pair of panties under the shirt. Looking down to her thighs he remembered how in his dream her little thighs had been covered in purple welts. "You were supposed to be sent to me you know, that's what your parents were trying to do. I was supposed to find you and I was supposed to take care of you.... All those years, wasted." he said, scoffing at the end.

Furrowing your brows and feeling your heart ache at the guilt in his voice you reached up to take his face in your hands. Brushing your thumbs over his scared cheeks you looked deeply into his silver eyes. "We are together now though..."

Closing his eyes he shook his head, "Still, all those years, those horrible years you were forced to endure. None of it was supposed to happen, none..."

Leaning up some you leaned closer to his face, "But they did. They did and you can't change that and it's okay. Croc I am who I am today because of the life I lived. No it was by far a good life but I would go through all of that shit again so long as I got to end up right here with you." 

Opening his eyes he looked down at her and felt an incredible warmth in his chest at the way she was looking at him. This woman, this beautiful, caring woman who had been through hell and still managed to wear a smile was his soulmate. Stroking her neck and collarbone with his knuckles he swallowed thickly and raised his chin a bit. Looking into her eyes he felt an incredible calmness come over him. "I love you." 

Gasping a little, you thought you had misheard him but seeing the way he looked at you you knew you had heard right and you felt your eyes fill with tears. Smiling you felt your whole body turn warm, "I love you too." you told him and saw him smile as well before he was leaning forward to press his lips to yours. 

It didn't take long at all for their kiss to deepen their arousal from earlier tonight being brought back from their declaration of love. Moving his hand up to the back of her head he felt her soft hair run through his fingers. Tightening his left arm around her waist he turned them so she fell to her back on the bed while he moved over her. Rolling his tongue around her mouth he groaned as his cock hardened. 

Moving your hand to his shoulder and neck you felt his own hand move from the back of your head, down your side and over your hip to grab your underwear. Hearing the man grumble a little at the return of your panties you giggled but then gasped as he gave a tug, filling the room with a ripping sound. "Croc..."

"I'll buy you more." he quickly said into her mouth before sealing their lips again. Running his finger up her slit he felt wetness cover his digit and grinned. Kissing a trail down to her neck he bit and sucked at her already marked skin. Pressing his finger into her he heard her let out a small gasp that turned into a soft moan. Pumping his finger into her a few times he added another. He was glad she was still adjusted from earlier, as much as he enjoyed hearing her sweet noises he was ready for them to be one again. After working a third finger into her and feeling her hips try and roll on their own he pulled his hand from her sex, lifting up to rub her juices on his cock. Lining up with her entrance he lowered his body to her and pushed in. 

Whimpering at the slight stretch you felt him bite your neck, a deep groan being muffled by your skin. As he sunk into you, his cock fitting easier this time you held onto him, your legs taking their place around his and your feet resting on the back of his thighs. When his pelvis met yours you hissed and tensed up a little but he stilled, giving you your time to adjust. 

Gritting his teeth he peppered her skin in kisses and the occasional nip, enjoying the way her smaller body would flinch at the sting of his teeth. When he thought she was ready he pulled back and thrusted back in hearing her moan and her nails dig into his shoulder. Moving back to her lips he kissed her lips hard, snapping his hips a little harder. Moving his hand to her breast he groped the fleshy mound, pinching her tender nipple between his knuckles. 

Letting out a noise that was somewhere between a moan and a yelp you heard him chuckle, his teeth biting your bottom lip and giving a tug. Already you could feel that coil in your belly becoming too tight. Ready to snap at any second. With one hard thrust of his hips you were crying out.

She was squeezing him, her walls already fluttering around his cock as she hovered on the edge. Pushing his hand up her arm he laced their fingers together and held her hand down beside her head. Snapping his hips upwards to hit her sweet spot he heard her moan and grinned. Continuing to stimulate her G-spot she was soon clenching up, her breast pushing into his chest and her pussy milking him of his seed. Grunting he held her tightly, staying buried into her as deep as he could while he filled her womb. Letting out a long sigh he continued holding himself up for a few moments, peppering her skin with soft kisses. Easing her leg down he rubbed her hip and then gently eased out of her so he could lay beside her. Holding her close as they both caught their breath he rubbed her back. Noticing her body slacking into his he peeked down at her and grinned. He knew they needed to get up, needed to clean up but he was so fucking tired. Feeling her deep breaths fan out over his chest he knew she was already out and sighed. Oh well, he'd hate himself for it in morning but he wouldn't wake his love. Using his powers to pull the blanket up he grabbed a hold of it and finished covering them both up, making sure she was comfortable and brushing her wild hair back out of her face. Turning his head he placed a kiss to her head and closed his eyes. 

.............................

It came as no surprise when he woke before her. There was also no surprise when he rolled over to look down at her and saw she was covered in his marks. She was laying on her stomach, her hair all over the place, per usual, her kiss swollen lips were slightly parted and there even looked to be a slight bruise to the bottom one. Hickies and teeth marks trailed down her neck and over her shoulder making his brow twitch. Lifting the duvet a small amount he peeked under the covers at her left hip and saw a light bruise there as well... his hand. Grunting he looked back up to her sleeping face and sighed, he hadn't meant to be so rough with her, he thought he had been rather gentle but apparently that wasn't the case. Sighing he went to get up to draw her another hot bath but an slender arm wrapping around his middle stopped him. 

"Stay." you said when you felt the body next to you go to leave. "Please." you mumbled. You knew he had work to do but you just wanted a little bit more time with him. 

Hearing how tired she still was he grinned softly, "As you wish." Laying back and getting comfortable he felt her wiggle her way up to lay on his chest, her legs tangling with one of his while her arm stayed wrapped around his abdomen. He thought she would go back to sleep but instead her face turned to him, her sleepy eyes opening and peering up at him lovingly. Love, something he never thought he would feel or even experience but he had been wrong because he was unconditionally and undoubtedly in love. Moving his hand to brush her hair back behind her ear he grinned. Brushing his thumb over her cheek he looked tot he light scar on her temple and tilted his head some, "Where did you get this?" 

Resting your chin on his chest you continued grinning. "Fell out of a tree." 

"You fell out of a tree." he said and saw her nod. 

"I stole some chocolate from the kitchen at the orphanage, climbed up the tree in hopes I could eat it without getting caught. I got to eat it yeah but fell out on the way down, smacked my head right on one of the roots and knocked me out. One of the nuns found me hours later, candy wrapper right beside me on the ground." you giggled. 

Wincing when she said what had happened he couldn't help his low chuckle at the karma of the whole situation. "Did you get in trouble?" he asked. 

"Yep, had to scrub pot and pans for the next week." you told him an heard him chuckle again. 

"You were quite a handful as a child weren't you." he grinned.

"Very, you should be glad you didn't find me. Probably would have drove you nuts." you said with a playful smile and saw him grin a little. Looking over his handsome face you took it all in. He looked more relaxed now, calm. His hair was laying this way in that, a few strands framing his face. His lips were a bit pink and you could see the start of a five o' clock shadow. Thinking of something you reached your hand up to play with his black hair and looked into his silver eyes. "What's your name?"

Raising a brow he huffed a little, "This again?"

"Don't even, I know your mother didn't name her son Crocodile." you grinned. 

Rolling his eyes he let out a long sigh but looked back to her sea blue eyes and licked his lips, "Raiden." 

Smiling you hummed, "Thunder and lightning." 

"Yes, I was told I was born during a storm." he told her. 

"What made you give it up?" you asked, wanting to know more about him. 

Taking a deep breath he ran his fingertips over her skin. "I wanted to forget about my past." when he saw her tilt her head he blinked slowly. There was no one alive that knew about his past or at least none that mattered. He had made sure no one knew anything about him other than what he wanted them to know, which wasn't much. But her, his love, she deserved to know. "I was born into a poor family, my mother worked in the fields, my father on cargo ships. They barely had enough money to get by on their own so when they had me things got worse. When I was around thirteen my mother got sick and my father started coming home less and less. I don't know if it was because he didn't wish to see his wife slowly dying or if he just didn't want to have to deal with it. I took care of her the best I could but she died when I was fifteen. The last time my father came back she had been dead for about five months and I was barely making it by. He gave me his pistol that had been his father's before him and then he left. He never came back. A year later I had saved up enough money to buy a small boat and then I left. Never looked back." 

Looking to your soulmate with furrowed brows you saw him avoiding your eyes, looking instead to where his hand was messing with your hair. He looked almost embarrassed to tell you the truth about him. While it pained you to know he had lived a harsh childhood you knew him well enough to know he wouldn't want pity so instead you moved up to kiss his lips, "Well I think you turned out to be a very smart and powerful man... you can even be good man when you want to be." you told him. 

Chuckling he held her to him as he rolled them over so he was over her. "Don't go telling anyone that darling, you will ruin my reputation." Looking down at her he held himself up on his left forearm, laying on his side by her and looking down into her sparkling eyes and then down to her bare breasts. Tracing the trail of love marks with his finger and then down to her soulmate mark he thought of the question he had been wanting to ask her. "Why were you going to take your own life that night I came to you?" 

Blinking you bit your lip and took to gently rubbing your fingers over the little marks you had left on him. "I had given up... I was lonely, tired. I didn't have any friends or family or anyone that would miss me, no one that cared. I woke up and I went to work just to come home to an empty house and sleep before getting up and doing it all over again. I didn't see a point in living anymore." you told him in a soft voice before you grinned sadly, "I was cooking what was meant to be my last meal when you fell into my living room."

"What was it?" he asked in a low voice, continuing to trace the black mark that bound them. 

Smiling you met his eyes, "Steak with saute onions and garlic." 

Chuckling he nodded slightly, "Good choice... then what happened?" 

Taking a deep breath you looked back to his strong neck and shoulders, "Well after being scared to death I turned off the stove and made sure you weren't dead. Untangled you from my coffee table, dropped you on your head..."

"What?" he asked. 

"Okay in my defense you are heavy and I was trying to keep you from laying in a pile of broken glass." you told him and heard him grunt. "Well once I got you all bandaged up and stuff I went to finish cooking. I was hoping you were going to wake up but after I finished eating you were still out cold so I went back to my room." Licking your lips you swallowed thickly. "I ah... I put up the note and knife I had left out..."

"Knife?" he asked and then saw her glance to him quickly before her eyes shot back down in shame. Understanding he grit his teeth and looked to her tiny wrist, the image of it being sliced open filling his mind for a moment. 

"I had said that once I made sure you were alright, once you had left I would do it but, you stuck around. The rest you know." you told him with a sad grin. 

She had been so close, so close to dying. She was ready, she had accepted it and the thought broke his heart. He had always been able to tell there was something lying beneath her kind smile, some darkness but he had never said anything. To think of what would have happened if he hadn't walked into that little hut that night. Feeling a shiver run down his spine he leaned down to kiss her mark, closing his eyes and focusing on her soft skin under his lips. Kissing his way up to her mouth he hovered over her as the both lazily made out. There was no desire to take it any further, not that he would allow it anyway, she had taken him twice in twelve hours, her body needed a break, he wouldn't risk hurting her. Speaking of he really needed to get her in a hot bath, while she seemed fine right now, she hadn't stood up yet. Using his sand to turn on the water he felt her jump a little and pulled away some to look down at her. Seeing her eyes questioning him he raised his chin. "You are going to take a long, hot bath while I go get us breakfast and more importantly coffee." 

Giggling at his need for coffee you saw him grin slightly. "Then what?"

"Then I am going to go preform my captain-ly duties while you rest and drink plenty of fluids." Seeing her go to speak he placed a finger over her lips to silence her, "No. This is not up for debate. You will take the day to recuperate and then tomorrow if you are feeling up to it you may go out. Perhaps you can help me look for a ship doctor." 

Knitting your brows you let out a huff. "Can I at least plant my apple seedlings?"

"No, that is physical wo..." he started but saw her poke out her lip in a pout. Growling he felt his lip twitch and cut his eyes at her, "Damn woman. Fine but nothing more."

"Yay." Quickly kissing his lips you felt him move and before you could say another word he was lifting you up into his arms and holding you to his chest and taking you to your bath that had a few bubbles in it. While you had rolled your eyes and brushed him off when he lectured you about soaking in the tub 

_"...Taking me can be difficult on your body and you did it twice in one night so make sure you take it easy and don't push yourself."_

Once you got out of the tub however you understood what he meant, your legs felt like jelly and you hips and lower abdomen throbbed. Not to mention the raw feeling of your poor nipples and sex as you went to wash them. Getting out you dried your body and stood on shaking legs as you quickly brushed through your hair and made your way back to the bed. Yep you would definitely be taking it easy today.


	16. Chapter 16

"It's not fair when you turn to sand you big jerk." you grumbled. 

Swinging the bokken through the air he landed a hit against her backside as he reformed. "It doesn't matter when you keep leaving your guard down." he lectured her. Seeing his little woman's eye narrow at him he rose a brow. Seeing her leg twitch he blocked her next burst of attacks easily. Stepping back when she swung for his chest he moved his own arm and stopped just as the bokken touched the front of her neck. "Dead." he grunted and saw her let out a sigh, her shoulders dropping. Knowing she was growing irritated he lowered his bokken from her neck and stood back tall. "That's enough for tonight darling." Stepping over to her he took her bokken and lifted her chin with the curve of his hook to force her eyes to his own. "You are improving, even if you don't see it." he told her in a low voice. Staring into her sea blue eyes he blinked, "Go get in the shower, I'll be in there in a moment." 

Nodding you felt him remove his hook and walked to the bathroom. Closing the door you turned on the shower but didn't make a move to undress just yet. Leaning on the sink you let out a long sigh. Crocodile said you were getting better but damn if you thought you were. You hadn't managed to land a hit on him yet. You had to work harder, you had to get better so you wouldn't be completely useless to him. Standing back straight you removed your clothes and stepped under the spray of the hot water. Tilting your head back and allowing the frustrations to wash off of you. 

Placing the training swords up he turned to check over a few things and smoke when a knock sounded at his cabin door. "What is it?" 

"I have something you need to see." Daz said as he walked into the room. Moving over to hand the paper to his boss he glanced to the bathroom door and saw steam coming from the crack. "Look at the bounties." 

Taking the folded paper and giving Daz a glance he puffed on his cigar as he dropped the paper to his desk and turned it to the bounty section. As soon as he had flipped the page the picture that greeted him just about made him drop his cigar. Quickly lifting the bounty to get a closer look he saw the smiling face of his soulmate with his own relaxed looking face a few inches away. He could tell by the way she was dressed that that had been the night they had went out on their date only a week ago. The headline read 'WANTED, Dead or Alive, Firelocks Y/n, 99,000,000' Snapping his eyes to the information written below he noted that they had included a picture of him, her father who was apparently known as Killer Dunces Vince back in his day and a picture of Big Mom. Somehow they had pieced together who her father was but to be fair she did favor him a lot, then they brought up their own relationship, stating that he and her were closely affiliated with one another. She herself had done nothing, she wasn't a criminal, they put a hit out on her simply because of who she was connected with. Gritting his teeth down on his cigar he looked back up to Daz to see him standing there was his normal stoic look. "When did this come out?"

"Two days ago."

"And why am I now just hearing about it?" he growled.

"We just received it sir, the news coo probably couldn't reach us when we were going through that storm."

"She does not hear of this. She will not leave this ship without you or I present am I clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Get rid of this." he snapped, handing Daz the wanted poster. Watching him walk out he rubbed his neck and brushed back his hair. Inhaling deeply he felt the smoke fill his lungs and held it there before letting it out in a long sigh. How could he have been so careless? He had knew someone was there. He knew he had heard the sound of a shutter but he had done nothing. And now because of that the woman he loved was in danger. He had to come up with a plan, he had to do something to keep her hidden. He couldn't lose her, not again. Removing his cigar he dropped it in the ashtray before chugging down an entire glass of bourbon. 

"Croc hun, I thought you were coming in with me?" 

Hearing her call he set down his glass and walked over to remove his hook and rings. Using his sand to lock the cabin door he started undressing as he walked towards the bathroom. Stepping into the shower with her he looked over her wet body and sighed. There was a light mark across her ass cheeks where he had smacked her with the bokken and it made his brow twitch. Moving behind her he wrapped his arms around her small body hearing her hum and lean back into him. Keeping his left arm wrapped around her he raised his right hand up to rub her head. Feeling her head move he looked down to see her grinning softly up at him. 

"I'm sorry for being such a brat. I got annoyed. Thank you for teaching me." you told him, figuring your bad attitude was the reason he had took so long to join you in the shower. 

Stroking her jaw with his thumb he bent over to kiss her forehead. "You're welcome my dear." Thinking about the poster he felt his lip twitch, "I'll always protect you, you know that don't you darling. As long as I'm still breathing I will never allow harm to come to you again." 

Turning around you wrapped your arms around his middle and laid your chin on his sternum, continuing to look up into his silver eyes. "I know you will and that's why I have to get better, so I can protect you as well." 

"Don't think I can take care of myself sweetheart?" he asked with a raised brow. 

"I know you can but I want this to be a mutual relationship. You watch my back, I watch yours." 

Seeing nothing but admiration in her eyes he let out a sigh and blinked slowly. Running his hand down her wet hair and back he felt his lips turn up the smallest amount. "I think I can agree to those terms." 

"Always the businessman." you giggled. 

Finishing your shower before him you quickly dried off and slipped into the black silk negligee he had recently bought you. It was weightless and had a intiqut lace trim along the top and bottom hem. Pairing the matching panties with it you quickly grabbed the hidden bottle of massage oil you had bought a while back. Setting it on the side table you turned down the bed and got everything ready. Knowing what tomorrow was you had decided tonight was the perfect time to do what you had been planning, wanting him to feel good. Hearing the shower turn off you moved to light the candle and turn off the lights. After a few moments he was walking out of the bathroom with the towel around his waist. Seeing him go to the dresser to no doubt grab his lounge pants you moved up behind him and took his hand before he grab the handle. Seeing him look down at you with a raised brow you gave a nervous smile. "Go lay in bed." 

"Now dear you know we can not..."

"I know, that's not it." you said quickly cutting him off and starting to blush. You knew his rule, Crocodile would not have sex with you two nights in a row. After the first time when you had been so sore you could barely walk he refused to make love to you two nights in a row. Noticing him only narrow his eyes at you in a suspicious way you laced your fingers with his and leaned closer to him. "Come on please." you begged with a smile, looking up into his eyes. 

Seeing the pleading look on her face he said nothing but started walking to the their bed, noticing all the lights were off other than the candle. Watching her get in first and scoot to her side he removed the towel and moved to lay down. 

"Lay on your front." you said when you saw him lowering down to his back like he normally slept. 

Freezing he looked to her, she was sitting on the bed, not laying down. "No." he spoke and saw her soft smile fall making his heart clench. "Why?" he asked quickly and saw her sea blue eyes lift back to his. 

"It's a surprise." you answered, not wanting to give it away. When he continued looking at you you tilted your head a bit. "D..don't you trust me?"

Her voice was soft, hopeful but he had known her long enough to be able to pick up on the slight hurt there as well. "Yes, of course I do. Forgive me little star." Without another hesitation he did as she had asked, like he should have done the first time, and laid on his stomach. Pushing his arms under the pillow and laying his head on it he turned his face towards her and waited. When she moved he mentally cursed himself for imagining her going to plunge a knife into his back. However instead of pain he felt as she moved to straddle his lower back and tensed.

Pouring some of the oil into your hands you set the bottle back on the nightstand and rubbed your hands together to warm it. You could feel your heart hammering in your chest and your stomach twisting with nerves. You could feel how stiff he was under you and you only hoped he would like what you were going to do.While you had never given anyone a massage nor gotten one yourself you had seen it done in movies and such. You just hoped you were good at it. Rubbing your hands together you began rubbing his back. 

He couldn't help the flinch of his muscles when he felt her hands start rubbing his back, "What are you doing?"

"Helping you relax." you answered, pressing your thumbs into his hard muscles you tried to mimic what you had seen.

She was giving him a massage? "Why?" he asked, looking to the wall.

"Because you are always so tense."

Blinking he focused on the feel of her hands, she was gentle and quiet. "You don't have to do this."

Biting your lip you slowed your hands some, feeling slightly discouraged. Were you doing something wrong? Did it not feel good? "You don't like it?" you asked in a softer voice, trying not to sound as upset as you felt. 

He didn't have to see her face to know she was shutting down and he clenched his teeth knowing he had yet again been the cause. Why couldn't he just let her do something nice for him? "I do darling. I just don't want you to think you have to do it."

"I want to." you told him with a soft grin. 

Looking over his shoulder to see if she was telling the truth he saw her eyes holding nothing but love, the love she had for him. Grinning a bit he nodded and then moved his head back down to rest on top of his arms with his eyes closed this time. When her hands started gently rubbing his back he smirked softly, "You are not going to hurt me little star." he mumbled out and felt her add a little more pressure, working out the knots in his muscles. 

You heard him sigh as you worked your way down his back and then back up to his neck and shoulders. Feeling the tense spots loosen beneath your fingers you tilted your head and grinned when you saw his face now completely relaxed. Finishing up with his back you poured more oil into your palm as you moved off his back and started rubbing down his firm ass and thighs. He seemed to tense up again when you did this asking if you were sure you wanted to do this. "You stop me again and I will kick your perfectly sculpted ass." That seemed to do it as he laid back down and chuckled deeply, not moving for the remainder of his massage.

Once his whole body, all eight foot, three inches of it had been rubbed you smiled and placed the bottle on the side table before crawling over to your side. Turning you saw him fast asleep and smiled lovingly. His lips were slightly parted and his eyelids made only the tiniest movement as he dreamed. Biting your lip you smiled and moved to run your fingers through his raven hair, brushing it back out of his face. Leaning across him to blow out the candle you wiggled down beside him and pulled the covers up over the both of you. Pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Goodnight Raiden." you whispered and laid your head down to join him in sleep. 

...........................

Waking up to the vibrating alarm you had set on your phone you quickly snapped your eyes open and hurried to silence it when you heard the large man beside you give a small groan. Biting your lip you looked to him and saw he was still sleeping. Letting out a sigh of relief you ever so quietly eased out of his side and down the bed, pausing whenever he stirred. Taking one last glance at him as you pulled on your silk robe to ensure he was still out you moved towards the door and slipped out. There wasn't much light out and mostly everyone was still sleeping but you heard as Maverick called out to you. 

"Somethin' wrong lass?"

Shaking your head you looked up to the old man from where he sat in the crow's nest. "No just want to make Croc breakfast." 

"Alright. Well here ya'll need this." 

Catching the key to the fridge and pantry as he tossed it down you smiled at him, "Thanks." Seeing him nod you hurried down to the kitchen to get started. You had set your alarm for about an hour before you knew he normally woke up hoping you could get everything done by then. Once it was all done you made sure the plate looked perfect before placing it on the tray with everything else. Picking it up you carefully made your way back up to the captain's quarters. Biting your lip when you went to try and open the door you saw a hand come forward and open it for you. Looking up you saw Daz standing there and gave him a warm smile, "Thank you." you spoke in a whisper and saw him give you a stiff nod and the closest thing to a smile he was capable of. 

Sneaking into the dim room you heard as Daz slowly closed the door behind you, letting your eyes adjust to the room you tiptoed over to the desk and set the tray down quietly. Looking up to the bed you felt your heart hammering in your chest. You were so nervous, maybe you shouldn't... no. NO! You had been planning this all week and you wouldn't chicken out now. Quietly moving over towards the foot of the bed you slowly and carefully crawled onto the large bed. Lifting the covers you dipped under them and moved forward, stopping when you heard the smallest sound leave the large man. Once he had relaxed you continued on. Lifting one knee over his leg you settled yourself between his spread legs and heard a small grunt leave his throat. God you hoped he didn't freak out and accidentally kill you. Thankfully he was still naked from last night so you wouldn't have to to worry about trying to move his pants. Looking over his limp cock you licked your lips, even when he wasn't aroused the thing was quite large. Taking a deep breath to calm your nerves you gently took the muscle in your hand, hearing him now hum as he was awakened some. 

"Y/n?" he mumbled, his voice still thick with sleep.

Without a word you licked up the length ,feeling it harden in your hand and hearing him take in a deep breath. Grinning when he became hard you felt a bit of confidence come over you and took the smooth head into your mouth. Giving an experimental suck you heard him let out a breath and slowly sunk down till you felt it hit the back of your throat. Hollowing out your cheeks on the way back up you sucked and heard him let out a breathy moan. Feeling him move the covers you glanced up to see two lidded eyes that were almost black with lust staring down at you. Seeing as he didn't push you away you took it as a good sign and repeated the action. Moving your hand to his balls to roll them in your palm you saw his eyes close for a moment. When his hand moved to pet your head you felt a tingle between your own legs. Letting your tongue lick up the thick vein on the underside of his member you heard him hiss, his hand fisting in your hair when you stopped to tease his slit with the tip of your tongue.

"You sure you want to tease me little star?" he asked in a deep voice. Seeing her smirk a little around his cock, only sucking at the very tip he gave a growl and gently pushed on the back of her skull to make her take him down her throat again.

Gagging around the hard member you felt your eyes water and closed them tight.

"Look at me." Seeing those beautiful eyes meet his he grinned. Glancing to her lips that were wrapped around his cock he felt that cord in his lower abdomen tighten. Loosening his hand in her hair some he felt her come up and took in a shaky breath.

Repeating the action over and over you tried to relax your throat to allow him deeper. Feeling his thighs flexing on either side of you, you knew he was close and picked up speed, his hand in your hair moving you to the pace he needed. As soon as you felt his balls start to twitch you took him as deep as you could, sending him into his climax without hesitation.

Growled praises left his clenched teeth, his large hand holding her mouth on him as he shot his load down her throat. Feeling her throat constrict his eyes rolled back behind his lids some. He hadn't been expecting her to swallow his seed but he damn sure wasn't going to complain. 

Your eyes watered, sending tears down your cheeks but you held back your gag, swallowing all of the salty bitterness down as it pooled into your mouth. It was by no means a pleasant taste but you found it oddly erotic and even satisfying to swallow his seed, even more so when you knew he was enjoying it as well. When he finally did relax you felt him rub your head and sucked him clean as you came off with a small wet pop. Feeling him pull on your arm you grinned and climbed up to lay on his chest. Looking up you saw a sated but confused look on his face and grinned, "Happy birthday gator." 

Stunned for a moment he blinked and looked to see her smiling brightly at him as she always did. Letting out a deep breath he smiled softly, "Thank you sweetheart." he told her, brushing back her hair. When she went to get up he knit his brows and tightened his arm around her. 

"I'll be back." you told him. 

Releasing her his eyes followed her across the room as she lifted something from his desk. Sitting up some he pulled the covers back over his lap. Watching her move back over to him he glanced down to the tray as she placed it in his lap. A plate with an omelet, a small bowl with fresh fruit and a steaming cup of coffee greeted him. Yet again this morning he was stunned. Looking up to his soulmate he saw her standing there with her lip slightly bitten between her teeth, her eyes on the tray before she moved to straighten the silverware. "You did this?... For me?" 

Rubbing your arm you rocked on your heels. "Well yea. Umm... is it okay? If you want something else I can..."

Reaching out to grab the sash of her robe he tugged her towards him and then leaned forward to kiss her, holding her to him by his hand on the back of her neck. Pulling away after a moment he glanced up at her, noticing the light blush on her cheeks. "You spoil me."

Smiling you giggled lightly, "You're supposed to spoil the ones you love." 

Feeling that warmth in his heart he grinned. Looking back down to the tray he rose a brow, "And where may I ask is yours? I do believe we talked about you skipping meals."

"I'm not skipping I just haven't been down to get breakfast yet." 

She hadn't made herself anything. Grunting he wrapped his arm around her and carefully lifted her up and over the tray in his lap to sit her back on the bed beside him. 

"Wha..."

Wrapping his left arm around her he lifted one of the strawberries and brought it to her lips. 

"No, that's yours."

"Yes it is mine so that means I can do with it what I wish and I want to feed my woman. So open up." When she still refused he rose his chin. "You don't eat, I don't eat." he told her and heard her growl before she opened her mouth and took a bite of the strawberry. "Good girl." 

..............................

As relieved as you were to be back on land again something felt off. Crocodile quickly declared as soon you made port that you were staying close to him and you were not to leave his side. What was even stranger was that for most of the day Daz had stayed close by you as well and you couldn't help but notice the two of them looking to each other every so often, Crocodile's eyes narrowing while Daz would shake his head the smallest amount. It was like they were having a silent conversation. At one point you had asked your dear gator if anything was wrong but he had simply placed his hand on your hip and responded with 'Nothing you need to worry yourself with my dear.' So for the time being you said nothing only nodded and allowed him to lead you around the island. 

You were surprised when Crocodile had gotten you both a room in the island's best hotel. Following him up to it you raised your brows as you looked over the expensive room. "I wasn't expecting us to be staying tonight." 

Humming he removed his coat from his shoulders and tossed it to the lounger before removing the cigar from his lips. "I thought it would be nice to have time off the ship together. I can only take so much of the crew's longing looks of you."

Opening and closing your mouth you quickly looked away and moved over to the floor to ceiling window to look out over the small city. 

Seeing her look he puffed on his cigar once more, placing it down in the ashtray on the table as he made his way over to her. "You believe my eyes have been betraying me?" Moving up behind her he gripped her hip in his hand, pulling her flush against his chest and delicately tracing the curve of her neck with his hook. "I don't think you realize how desirable you are my little star." he spoke in a deep voice. "They are like a pack of wild dogs, they hunger for you, the crave you. Not that I blame them. After all you seem to have me under your spell as well, some may even say tamed."

Turning around when you heard this you craned your neck to look up at him. The tip of his hook gently brushed back your hair, it would be so easy for him to kill you but you didn't fear him in the slightest. Placing one of your hands on his belt you gave a small tug on it and raised your other hand to his scarf to tug it loose. "Who says I want my gator tamed?"

Chuckling deeply he moved his hand under her ass and lifted her up to level her mouth with his. Claiming her lips in a heated kiss he moved towards the bed, pulling her dress over her head and dropping it to the floor. 

..............................

Leaning into him as he led you back to the elevator you moved inside and felt him pull you to him. Wrapping your arms around his middle you placed your chin on his chest and looked up at him. "I'm sorry for ruining dinner." 

Humming he held her to him with his left arm while his hand moved to brush back her hair. "You didn't ruin anything my little star. Are you sure there wasn't something wrong with the shrimp you ordered, you barely touched them?" 

Nodding you tilted your head a bit, "They were good I just, I don't know I kinda felt nauseous after eating them."

"How do you feel now? Do you still feel ill?" he asked, moving the back of his hand to her forehead. "You don't feel feverish." 

"No It's starting to go away now I'm just tired. It's weird I felt fine before." you told him. 

Rubbing her bare back through the cutout in the new dress he bought her he saw her eyes closed. "I'll run you a bath when we get back to the room, how does that sound?" 

"If you join me we have a deal." 

Chuckling he kissed the top of her head. "Very well I will take a bath with you but then you are going to rest while I work." 

"Fine. I guess I'll just have to cuddle up to the pillow." you grumbled. 

"You can not get your way all the time my dear." he told her, not being able to hold back his small grin. As the elevator doors opened up to the floor their room was on he kept his hand on her lower back until they got to their door. Unlocking it he allowed her inside, turning to lock it back behind them as she removed her heels. 

Walking towards the bed you were in the middle of a yawn when you heard Crocodile let out a deep "Who..." a loud slam followed making you spin around. What you saw made your eyes go wide and your whole body tense.


	17. Chapter 17

You heart hammered so loudly in your ears that you were sure everyone in the hotel could hear it. The room was still dark but you were very aware of the other person in the room, their crimson eyes seeming to glow in the darkness. A sudden click as they turned on the light showed you that the they was a man, a very, very large man, larger than Crocodile. You didn't much give him a glance over as your eyes instantly snapped to that of your soulmate who was being held to the wall by some white substance. He didn't look hurt but he was angry that was for sure, his hair disheveled and his eyes hard. 

"Who the hell are..." 

"This meeting does not concern you." The large man sitting in the arm chair spoke, his voice deep and calm. 

Before he could say another word the stuff covering him moved up his neck and jaw to cover his mouth. Trying to turn to sand he saw the white mush turn black... Haki. 

Using his powers to subdue the annoyance he turned his eyes back to the young woman and blinked slowly. Lifting the piece of paper from the side table he held it up towards her. "I've been searching for you, Firelocks Y/n."

Turning your eyes to the bounty you furrowed your brows at the picture of yourself and then the words written below. 'Wanted Dead or alive.' You had a bounty? Seeing him still looking at you, you looked back. Now taking the man in you saw he was wearing leather pants and a matching black vest. His hair was the same color as your own and he had a fluffy scarf covering the bottom half of his face. Hearing your Crocodile yelling something around the stuff covering his mouth you furrowed your brows when he suddenly stopped and you heard his breathing become desperate. Noticing his face flush and the veins in his temple and forehead pop out you felt a sharp clenching your your heart. Looking back and forth between the man and Crocodile you moved to step forward, those crimson eyes staying on you. "Please stop it. If you are here for me that's fine but please don't hurt him."

Loosening the mochi he heard the man take a much needed breath but never broke his gaze from the woman. "Do you know who I am?" he asked and saw her look back to him and shake her head slowly. Humming he dipped his head some. "My name is Katakuri Charlotte. I am the third born son of Big Mom and I serve as a sweet commander in the Big Mom Pirates along with two of my quadruplet brothers... I am also your uncle." 

Gasping a little you swallowed before speaking, "M..my uncle?"

"Yes. Your father, Vincent Charlotte was my older brother. Since I am to presume you do not know much about your family allow me to fill you in. Your grandmother, my mother is Linlin Charlotte, you have thirty-nine aunts and forty-six uncles. My sister and her husband are expecting their first child, your first cousin in a few months. You also have many ex in laws but we will not go into that." 

Feeling your heart still beating like a drum in your chest you licked your lips, "And my mother?" you asked in a soft, shaky voice. 

"I am afraid I do not know much about her. Her name was Anna, she was a servant for our family. If I were to guess she most likely lived on the island before my mother claimed it. I know she had parents on one of the neighboring islands but they too were killed when my mother learned of your existence."

"Mmmy.... they were killed b..because of me? My parents... my grandparents..." you asked, your voice growing soft as a lump formed in your throat. You knew about your parents being killed, Crocodile had told you that part but you didn't know why.

"Yes." 

"W..why?" 

"To put it simply, you were not approved to be conceived. My mother did not approve of Vincent and your mother's marriage. They wed behind her back, their entire relationship was kept secret but when you came alone she caught wind of it. Very few knew about you, about them, only those your father trusted..."

It pained him to see her enduring this. He could tell by the sound of her voice, the curling of her shoulders how much this was taking it's toll on her. When he noticed her eyes watering up he tried yet again to move but failed. 

"Were you one of those few?"

"Yes. I was there the night you were brought into this world. You were such a tiny thing. Your father could hold you in the palm of his hand. No one expected you to make it through till morning but you did." Taking a deep breath he sighed. "They kept you hidden for nearly two months before word finally got out." 

"Were you there then?"

"No. I was away on business for my mother. it wasn't until I had gotten back did I hear of what happened."

"She killed them."

"Yes." he said honestly. 

"She was going to kill me." 

"Yes." Watching her look down he used his haki to predict what she would say next. "She doesn't know you are alive. Not yet at least but it won't be long until she learns the truth. I can not be for certain what my mother will decide Y/n but you are proof of a betrayal, of mutiny. Chances are either she will send someone to kill you or she will have you married off to a potential ally in order to strengthen our crew."

Clenching his teeth he glared at the man. The hell she would be, she was his, his soulmate. 

"When I was told by my sister Brulee what had happened I tried finding you but it seems you were no longer in this world. You can understand how surprised I was to find your picture in the bounties. There was no mistaking who you were and it does not surprise me at all that the world government knew as well." Looking over his niece he blinked slowly. "You look so much like him, all except the eyes, the eyes are your mother."

Swallowing thickly you looked down. Before you could get the words out he was answering your unspoken question. 

"I do miss him. Out of all of my siblings he was my favorite, I looked up to him. Vincent was powerful and clever but he was also kind and cared very much for his family. His death took it's toll on all of us."

Closing your eyes you felt your lashes grow wet with the tears you were trying to hold back. "I'm sorry." you whispered out. 

He could hear the guilt in her voice and wished he could comfort her. He knew she wasn't only apologizing for the Charlotte's loss but for being the cause of it. She was apologizing for her existence. 

"Don't apologize, don't make his and your mother's death be in vain. They both sacrificed their lives to give you a chance. While I do not care for your choice in company..."

Cutting his eyes back at the man when he gave him a glare he grit his teeth. 

"... it is your life and if it makes you happy then it is none of my concern." Standing he walked over to her, sensing the man's anger he continued ignoring it. 

Looking up at the massive man as he came to stand in front of you you saw him pull out a spear of sorts out of his body. At first you stiffened and heard as Crocodile growled and roared around the black stuff holding him. No doubt the both of you assumed the same thing, that Katakuri was going to kill you now. However you didn't move to run or beg for your life, you understood why he would want you dead and so you stood stark still. Looking up to meet his crimson eyes you waited for the pain but none came. Instead he held his hand out, balancing the spear across his palm. 

"This was your father's Yari. He was exceptionally gifted with it, something I sense you also inherited from him." holding the weapon out for her to take he watched her small hands come up to hesitantly take it from him, noticing how much care she took with it he couldn't help the pride in his chest.

Taking it when he held it out for you, you looked the weapon over. It wasn't heavy but it wasn't light either, it was sturdy. The long shaft was made of wood with thick black leather bands braided around it. The blade itself was a diamond shape and bright silver but you noticed the very edges were black and there were carvings along the flat areas. It was a beautiful weapon. Knowing that your father had held it himself made a sense of nostalgia come over you.

"I have carried it with me since his death, wishing to one day pass it on to his child. My hope is that it will also be passed down to the child currently growing in your womb." he spoke glancing down to his niece's lower abdomen where he sensed life.

Feeling your breath catch in your throat you looked up from the weapon to meet his eyes. "W..what did you say?" you asked your voice barely above a whisper. 

"You did not know then." he hummed. Glancing over to the man pinned to the wall he saw his eyes holding just as much shock and rose a brow. "Neither of you did." 

"I..I'm..." you couldn't even get the word out. 

"Pregnant yes." he finished for her. Seeing her just standing there he sighed and blinked slowly. "I can see this is all overwhelming. There is something else for you there, I can not give you the family you missed out on Y/n but I hope this helps a little. As much as I enjoyed seeing you alive and well I hope we never meet again." Seeing her looking up at him with slightly knitted brows he sighed. "You are my niece but Big Mom is my mother and I am one of her commanders, if she gives the order I will follow it." 

Feeling your lip twitch you looked back down some and heard him walk away. 

Seeing the Charlotte walk over to stand in front of him he glared into his eyes as he stared down at him. How he hated when people looked down on him. 

"She has a large target on her back. As the firstborn grandchild of not one Emperor but two I have no doubt that there will be more people who will wish to see her dead, even if she herself has done nothing wrong. If you plan on keeping her and your child alive then you will need to get a lot stronger than you are now." Seeing the man glare at him he narrowed his eyes and walked away.

Hearing him walk towards the door you felt the tears roll down your cheeks as everything started to become to much. Clenching your hands down around the shaft of your father's spear you closed your eyes and felt your temper flare. "I'll kill her...."

Getting to the door he stopped and turned to glance at his niece over his shoulder. Those blue eyes starring daggers at him.

"... If I ever see her, if I ever get the chance I will kill her." you grit out.

Starring at his small woman his brows knit together some at the unfamiliar look in her sea blue eyes. It was a wild, dangerous look showing all the anger and hurt she was feeling. Fearing the Charlotte may take her threat serious he felt a bead of sweat run down his neck. Thankfully however all he heard as a deep huff.

"It seems you inherited the Charlotte temper... This meeting will be kept between us... and everything learned as well. Take care and stay safe my niece." 

Hearing the door shut and the sound of his spurs grow faint you dropped your eyes to the floor. It felt like your head was spinning. You could hear your heart and blood pumping. The spear in your hands felt heavy now, everything did. Your parents, your grandparents, they had been killed because of you, because you were born. You apparently had a bounty and a whole lot of people wanted you dead. You hadn't even done anything. Then to top it all off you were... Closing your eyes you felt that nausea from earlier coming back full force. 

When the stuff holding him released him he dropped down to his feet. Looking over to his woman he saw her standing there in the middle of the room with her head hung low and her shoulders curled in, even from here he could see her trembling. He couldn't get over what Charlotte had said, was it true, was his star pregnant? Was he going to be a... Before he could finish that thought though she was turning towards the bathroom and rushing inside. Going to follow her the door slammed in his face. 

Just managing to kick the door closed and prop the spear up against the vanity you quickly opened the toilet lid and bent over to empty stomach. Considering you had only eaten two of your shrimp and the cucumbers out of your salad there wasn't much to come back up but it still sucked. Groaning you reached up to flush the contents down then curled back against the large soaking tub. 

Having tried to open the door only for it to be stopped he glanced through the small crack and saw what was the problem. Pushing his hook into the crack he lifted the spear up off the handle and opened the door. Leaning the Yari up properly he glanced over to see Y/n curled up on the floor, her side leaned up against the tub, hugging her knees to her chest. Even with her face buried into her knees and her hair curtaining all around her he saw her small form shaking every so often as she cried silently. "Darling..." he called but she didn't look up at him only whimpered out a weak 'Go away.' Sighing he moved out to the room to remove his coat and tie. Locking the room door before going back into the bathroom he turned on the tub and added some of the oils the hotel provided. Crouching down on his hunches he removed her heels, tossing them to the side. Nothing was said as he pulled the dress off of her, tilting his head towards the bath he saw her sigh and obediently step into it before sinking down into the steaming water. 

Curling up once you were settled in the tub you stared down at the water and heard as Croc turned it off. He didn't say a word as he left you to your bath, cracking the door behind him. What the hell were you going to do? Not only were you in danger but if your uncle had been correct then your unborn child was as well. If your grandmother wanted you dead then she would no doubt want your baby dead as well. Your baby... you and Crocodile's baby... You didn't know anything about being a mother, wasn't like you had good role models growing up. If anything you knew at least what not to do. But what about Crocodile? Did he even want children? He didn't exactly come across as a family man. What if he didn't want it? What if he left you? Would he do that, would he abandon you because you got pregnant? You wanted to believe he wouldn't but you knew there was a chance he might. Just the thought alone had fresh tears rolling down your cheeks. Even if he didn't leave you what the hell were the two of you going to do with a baby? He was a pirate, a wanted pirate... well you were wanted now too but he was better known. Scrunching your eyes closed you dropped your forehead to your knees. Your head hurt. Your heart hurt. You were tired and you were over it. You just wanted to sleep. Sinking down under the water you basked in the warm quietness the water provided. 

Puffing heavily on his cigar he moved about the room. First he called for Daz on his den den, he didn't tell him much for now only to be ready to leave tomorrow morning at dawn. Next he called down to the hotel front desk and told them to bring him up some soup and ginger tea. Y/n hadn't eaten much today and whatever was in her stomach was now gone. She needed to eat, possibly now more than before. Beginning to pack the small bad he had brought with them to the hotel so it would be ready tomorrow morning his mind quickly took over. Stopping he closed his eyes and brushed back his hair while inhaling two lungful's of smoke. Pregnant. A child. They were going to have a child. He was going to be a father. He was pretty certain that nothing had ever made him more nervous in his life. He knew nothing about being a parent. Children didn't even like him, what if his own child didn't like him? Not to mention the fact that now he not only had to worry about his soulmate's safety but that of their unborn child. She would need to be checked over to fully tell him how far along she was but he knew in less than a years time he would have to figure something out. Sighing he rubbed his face. There seemed to be a million things running through his mind all at once.

Having not heard anything from the bathroom in a while he walked into the room and looked to the tub but she wasn't there. Instantly he felt his breath catch in his throat and hurried over to the tub. Seeing her laying under the water with her eyes closed he panicked and reached into the water to yank her up. Hearing her gasp as her head breeched the surface he grit his teeth down on his cigar. "What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to drown yourself?" 

"Attempting to grow gills." you mumbled, wiping your face. 

Growling at her sarcasm he heard a knock at the door and reached over to let out the water. "Get in the shower and wash up." he told her before wiping his hand on a towel and heading towards the door.

Getting out of the shower you dried off and then stood in front of the mirror for a time, your eyes dropping to your flat stomach. You didn't even hear Croc come in before he was pulling the towel from your hands and helping you tug your silk robe up your arms and onto your shoulders. Letting him lead you into the room you crawled into the bed and went to burrow yourself under the covers but before you could he was speaking. 

"Sit up." Placing the tray in her lap he noticed her lip twitch and her brows furrow. "You have to eat something Y/n."

"Noodle soup is like the worst thing ever to puke up." you grumbled. 

"That's what the ginger tea is for." 

Sighing you lifted the spoon knowing he wouldn't let you sleep until you ate some of it. 

Kicking off his shoes and removing his hook he dressed down to his pants before he moved into the bed beside her. Laying back against the headboard he sighed and plucked the cigar from his lips. " I suppose I will have to curve this habit." 

Biting your lip at his words you swallowed the soup in your mouth and stared into the bowl. "Did you know?"

"Which part?" he asked and saw her look to him. Breathing out he reached beside him to put out the cigar in the ashtray. "I knew about Big Mom being your grandmother, I knew she had been the one to kill your parents.... I also knew about the bounty." 

Nodding your head slowly you licked your lips. "So you just decided to keep the truth from me." 

Hearing the hurt and anger in her voice he took in a deep breath through his nose. "Yes." 

"Care to explain why you thought that was a good idea."

Feeling his brow twitch he grit his teeth and crossed his arms over his chest. "I did what I thought was best for you and I would do it again."

"You don't get to make those decisions..."

"I do and I will if it keeps you from hurting, if it keeps you from experiencing anymore pain and heartache than you already have been forced to endure through your life." 

Hearing his reasoning you closed your eyes and dropped your head back on the headboard for a moment before turning your head to him. "Croc I'm not some porcelain doll." you told him and saw his scowl deepen, saw his chest muscles flex.

"I know you are not a doll but you are still my soulmate and I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe. What good would it have done to tell you, so that you would feel guilty like you do now, for simply being born? So you would never be able to go out without fear of being recognized? You were happy and carefree, that's how I wished for you to stay." He spoke in a deep, even voice. There was no regret with what he had done, he would have kept the secret from her for the remainder of her life if that damn Charlotte wouldn't have shown up. 

You knew where he was coming from and while it was sweet in a way there was still the fact he had kept the truth from you. Moving the tray to the side you crawled over to straddle his lap, he still kept his arms crossed and his eyes looked away from your face but you gently reached up to touch his strong jaw and turn his face towards yours. When his eyes finally looked down to you, you stroked his skin with your fingertips. "You can't shield me from all the evil in the world." 

"I can try." Looking into her sea blue eyes he moved his arms from his chest, placing his left arm around her and rubbing his only hand down her arm then to her chest he parted her robe. Brushing his thumb over the soul binding mark he felt that warmth in his chest and breathed deeply. Dropping his eyes down to her flat abdomen he swallowed a little thicker, his hand slowly moving down to rest over the majority of her stomach. 

He didn't say anything just held his hand over your belly and looked at it with his lidded silver eyes. Placing your small hand over his large one you felt his thumb rub your skin there. "You're not freaking out about this like men do in the movies." You spoke, choosing to break the silence on the whole situation. 

"We weren't exactly being careful, I suppose I should have seen it coming. The thought of being a father never crossed my mind but... I also never thought I would fall in love." Sighing he rubbed his hand back up her side bringing his hand to her cheek and stroking her smooth skin while he looked her in the eyes. He knew her well enough to be able to see the fear in her eyes, the uncertainty. "I know this is all very sudden darling but it will be alright. Tomorrow I'll get Catch to give you an exam..." hearing her groan he rose his brow, "I know you don't particularly like him but he is a decent doctor."

"I wouldn't go as far as calling him a doctor, mad scientist is more like it." you grumbled. 

Chuckling he pushed his hand into her hair and pulled her towards him, feeling her cuddle up on his chest. "Don't worry he will take extra care with you and if he doesn't then well I'm sure you know what will happen." Feeling her arms move to hug him he kissed the crown of her head. "No matter what our future holds we will take it on together." 

Closing your eyes you listened to the thumping of his heart. "I love you Croc." 

"I love you my little star." he replied in a low voice. 

"If it's a boy can we name him Alligator?" 

"No." 

Giggling lightly at how quick his reply was you nuzzled his chest and felt him rub your back. "Ria?"

"No."

"Caiman?"

"N...maybe." 

..................................

Yawning you followed close beside Crocodile as you walked through the city. The sun was barely up but Crocodile demanded you to get up, telling you that you were leaving the island. You couldn't have gotten much sleep and you were definitely feeling it. Stopped when your large man grabbed your hand and tugged you into his side you stood beside him and quickly figured out he was getting something to eat. Feeling this eerie sense take over you glance to your right out of the corner of your eye and saw a group of men staring at you. When they noticed you had caught on to their look they quickly adverted their eyes and spoke quietly to one another but you noticed them glancing to you every so often. Leaning more into Crocodile you turned your face away from them. As the smell from the food stalls met your nose you felt your stomach turn and closed your eyes. 

Handing her the breakfast wrap he saw her eyes closed and rubbed her shoulder. "Are you alright?" he asked and saw her nod but not speak. "Try eating something." he said and saw her nod again. Walking towards the ship he kept her close to his side.

Nibbling on the wrap you could feel your nausea becoming worse. By the time you both got to the docks you couldn't take it anymore and quickly pulled away from him to run over to the edge of the docks and empty your stomach into the fishy smelling water. Crocodile was quick to come to your side, standing by you and rubbing your back. 

Rubbing her back as she vomited he sighed. He would have to make sure to keep her some ginger tea on hand when she ate. Seeing Daz come over he noticed the man glance to his woman with a raised brow. 

"Sick or expecting?" Daz asked and heard Crocodile growl lowly. 

Glancing up to the man you you saw him holding a banana in his hand and looked up to him. "Trade you." 

Looking down to the wrap he saw only one or two small bites taken out of it and smirked as he handed over his uneaten fruit to the woman. Looking to his Captain he continued smirking, "Expecting it is. Should I offer my congratulations?" when he saw the ex warlord narrow his eyes he chuckled. "Thanks for breakfast." he said as he took a bite of the food and made his way onto the ship to start count and make sure everything was loaded up okay. 

Huffing out he dropped his eyes back down to his star and saw her biting into the banana. Hearing a loud crash and then Daz yelling he grit his teeth. "Can't those idiots do anything right?"

"Go ahead. I'm going to sit here for a few more minutes, still feel a little queasy." 

Humming he lifted her up to sit on the crates still left to be loaded. "Very well but stay right here, no wondering off."

"We won't." you said and saw him grin the smallest amount. 

"I'll get Maverick to make you some tea."

Sighing you looked up to him, "I'm going to miss coffee." 

Chuckling he leaned closer to her, "I'll drink enough for the both of us." Kissing her forehead he pulled away. 

Holding his hand until his fingertips left yours you watched him make his way up the walk board and onto the ship. Hearing a bunch of thumping and then pained noises you grimaced but chose to stay out of it. Taking another bite of your banana you chewed it slowly as you looked out over the sea. Breathing deeply you lifted the banana again but before you could take another bite something was covering your mouth and grabbing you. Trying to fight the person off you felt a sharp stick to your neck and then your lids were fluttering shut. 


	18. Chapter 18

Grumbling under his breath as he finished reprehending his crew he moved back to the walk board to go retrieve his soulmate but when he looked down to where she had been he saw no one. Growling he grit his teeth. "I said no wondering off." Marching down the walk board he looked down the docks for her but didn't see her. Knitting his brows he snapped his head around, his heart starting to beat a little harder. "Daz!" Seeing his first come over to the side of the ship and look down to him he plucked the cigar from his lips. "Is Y/n on ship?" Seeing Daz glance around then hearing him ask the others, he knew the answer as soon as he looked back to him. Snapping his eyes back to where she had been he saw the banana she had been eating on the wooden dock next to the crates. Moving over to the side he glanced to the water just to be sure. The water wasn't very clear but even if she had fell in she was an exceptional swimmer she wouldn't have...

"Crocodile..."

Looking over to Daz he saw him kneeling by the crates and moved back over. Seeing the man stand and hold out a syringe he felt his blood run cold. "Find her." was all he grit out before turning to sand and flying down the dock and onto the streets.

..............................

Groaning at the aching in your body you scrunched your eyes together a few times before managing to open them. Looking around the dimly lit room you knit your brows. Your limbs felt like the weighted a ton. Trying to move your hands they stopped short and you quickly looked down to see a set of heavy cuffs locked around your wrists. Snapping your eyes down to ankles you saw they too had shackles on them. Swallowing hard you looked back around the room and now noticed the bars... based on the rocking you knew you were on a ship of sorts... the brig of a ship to be more exact. Breathing heavily you heard a thumping and looked towards the dark stairway on the other side of the room to see a man walking down them. Hey you knew him, that was that guy from the stalls, the one that had been watching you. As he come to stand in front of your cell you saw him cross his arms over his chest and smile largely at you. 

"Well look who's awake." he said with a dark chuckle. 

"Who are you? What do you want?" you asked, your voice soft and your throat burning.

"Don't matter who I am doll. As for what I want, well I'll be getting that soon enough." 

Furrowing your brows you saw him reach for something in his coat pocket. As soon as he unrolled it you felt your heart sink. 

"That's a mighty high bounty for such a little thing like you. But hey who am I to judge." he told her. Placing the bounty back up he tilted his head. "Would have loved to get my hands on that ex warlord of yours as well but eh.. I ain't stupid." 

Trying to hold back your tears you saw the man start smirking again. 

"Might want to save some of those tears, in a few days time yer life is gonna get a whole lot worse." 

That was all he said before he started back up the stairs, leaving you alone in the dark, cold brig. Tears rolled from your eyes and down your cheeks, choking on a sob you called out for your soulmate softly even though you knew he wasn't there. Curling up into the corner you pulled your knees up to your chest and laid your forehead on them. What were you going to do now? These men were going to turn you over to the marines to collect your bounty, the bounty you had just learned about. Would they kill you? Would you be executed? They had killed Ace because he was the son of Gol Rogers, would they kill you for your bloodline as well? It felt like your heart had dropped to your stomach. So many thoughts were running through your head that it felt like it was spinning. Surly by now Croc had noticed you missing. Was he looking for you? Maybe he would find you. As much as you wanted to stay positive your logical mind was taking over. Shaking with a sob you closed your eyes tight and placed your hands over your womb. "Crocodile. Please fff...orgive me. I..I love you..." 

.................................

There was a horrible clenching in his chest. They had searched the whole island, all through the night and next day but still his star had not been found. It was like she had just disappeared without a trace. They had even started searching houses, the thought that someone was hiding her crossing his mind. As he walked through the streets again, his eyes looking over every face he stopped when he heard yelling.

"Captain!"

Looking around he saw Ori come running up to him, the boy out of breath. "Did you find her?" he asked, his voice sounding desperate no matter how hard he tried to hide it. 

Shaking his head he looked up to the terrifying man and swallowed thickly. "N..No sirr b..but..."

"Speak up boy!" he yelled. Noticing the boy flinch he grit his teeth down on his cigar. He knew the boy couldn't help it and his darling had gotten on him before about snapping at the boy for his speech impediment but his nerves were too raw at the moment. 

"Bonez told me to c..come get you Sir. He..said ittt's important." Ori forced out, attempting to keep his stuttering to a minimum. 

Sighing he nodded. "Alright. Keep looking." 

"Yesss ssir." 

Without another moments hesitation he had stalked back to his ship and to his cabin when Hex pointed him in that way. He didn't like the seldom look on the man's face. Throwing open the cabin door he saw Daz standing there, a look of remorse on his face. No. Please no. "What did you find?" he asked, his voice deep. Bonez had always had a sense of sarcasm to him but the man said nothing as he handed him the paper. Dropping his eyes to it he slowly reached out to take it. His mind already had an idea about what it was he was getting ready to see but he shoved it away. Turning it over to where Daz had already folded it to he felt his breath catch in his throat. 

"Firelocks Y/n Captured. Bounty Collected."

He couldn't bare to read more than the headline, the paper turning to ash in his shaking hand. 

Seeing his captain just standing there as still as a statue he let out a sigh. Crossing his arms over his chest he blinked slowly. "She is being transported to Impale Down as we speak." nothing, not even a blink. Dropping his head he closed his eyes, "I'm sorry Crocodile." was all he said before he left the man to mourn. As soon as the door closed and he had made it a few feet away he heard the sound of things being broken and knocked over. Heavy thumping and banging filled the air of the ship but no one said a word. Nodding to Hex he saw the man go out to collect the remaining crew so they could leave. In truth they would all be lucky if Crocodile didn't disintegrate the whole ship and leave them to the sea. Sitting on one of the crates Daz let out a deep breath as he listened to his captain's rampage go on. He couldn't blame him, he knew his pain all too well. Loosing one's soulmate and child was a hard burden to bare. 

Breathing heavily Crocodile moved over to sit on the knocked over desk and dropped his head to his hand. She was gone. His love was gone. He had failed her again... and their child. There was no getting her back now he knew that. She was going to that hell. She was being sentenced to that dreadful place. It should have been him. He should be the one going to prison. She had done nothing, she was innocent. She was meant to be punished for being born... for loving him. He knew the truth, there was no way she would survive in a place like that. She was going to die, his unborn child was going to die. Before he could stop them tears were leaving his eyes. He felt them run down his cheeks and across his fingers and clenched his teeth hard to keep his unwanted sobs from ringing out. I'm sorry. "I'm so sorry my little star."

...........................

The wind blew harshly as you walked off the navy prison ship and down to the dock of doom. Keeping your eyes down you heard as the gate was slammed shut behind you and flinched. It was cold, your sundress doing nothing to keep you warm. Being led into the prison you heard the screams and cries of others around you and swallowed thickly. Following the jailer known as Domino into the prison you were first moved into a room to remove your clothing. Glancing to the guards most of which were men you tensed up but reluctantly did as you were told and removed your dress, bra and panties watching them get thrown into the fire. 

"The locket as well." Domino spoke.

Snapping your eyes up your hands moved to your locket and you felt your lip tremble. 

"Come on we don't have all day." one of the guards spoke. 

Screaming out when the whip was brought down on your back you clung to your locket and felt tears roll down your cheeks. Hearing the clicking of boots you looked down to see two shiny black boots standing in front of you and slowly looked up to see Domino there. When she held her hand out you sniffled and brought the chain over your head, handing it over to her with trembling hands. You thought she would toss it to the fire but she didn't. Not having time to question it you were yanked over to another part of the room. Realizing what was next you clenched your teeth. Being shoved down to the stone floor you covered your breasts as best you could, keeping your legs closed while a thick chain was wrapped around your ankles. Hauled up you glanced down to the boiling water under you and closed your eyes. Your thoughts went to Crocodile, he had went through this same thing and you knew from what the manga had said that he hadn't made a sound. Be like him. Be strong like him. Repeating the words in your head you felt the chain drop and held your breath however you proved to be much weaker than your soulmate. Being pulled out of the caldron you let out a broken scream, your skin already feeling burnt and blistered. 

Everything else that happened seemed to pass by in a blur, the 'baptism' making you feel faint. Dressed in stripped prison clothes that hung from your frame you walked along with Domino and one other guard who had to catch you as you stumbled a few times. Getting to an elevator you rode down you don't know how many levels, listening to people screaming. What level were you to be imprisoned in? When the elevator stopped you followed Domino down a dark hallway until she got to a large wooden door and knocked three times. A few seconds passed before the door opened and you were pushed inside. Stumbling to a stop you heard as Domino spoke to someone and then heard that person say your name. 

"Ehh... Firelocks Y/n huh?" 

Slowly looking up you saw none other than Hannyabal there. He was dressed differently than he had been in the manga and it was then you realized he had gotten Magellan's job. So he was Warden now. He looked to have put on some weight as well. Glancing over his office as he went about looking over what you guessed was your file you saw your locket had been placed on his desk and stared at it. At least she hadn't tossed it away. 

Reading over the woman's file he looked back and forth between her and her bounty, checking off that it was really her. Seeing her looking towards the locket that Domino had said was hers he rose a brow but said nothing. "Did she give you any trouble?"

"Other than handing the locket over at first command sir no."

"So forcibly taken?" he asked the blond. 

"No. She handed it over to me." 

Humming he reached for a pen only to knock it from his desk. 

Seeing the pen fall to the floor in front of you you reached down to pick it up out of habit but let out a cry when something hard hit your shoulder. 

Watching as the guard hit the woman with his baton, knocking her to the ground he knit his brows. Seeing a small shaking hand reach up to place the pen on his desk before the officer hit her forearm with the baton again, yelling how she didn't move unless told to he heard the woman cry out but not reply. "That's enough. Leave me to get her settled." he said. 

Slowly standing again you took in a shaky breath, your shoulder and arm throbbing in pain. You could hear as they went about talking but couldn't really make anything out, your eyes moving back to your locket on his desk. 

Getting all he needed from Domino he closed his office door and walked back around the woman who was standing there silently, her lidded eyes focused back on the locket. Moving to sit in his chair he grabbed the pen from where she had placed it and lifted it to write. "State your name." 

"Y/n... L/n...." 

"Wouldn't it be Charlotte?" he asked as he wrote. 

Feeling your brow twitch you blinked slowly, "I suppose." 

"Crimes?" he asked. 

Feeling a clenching in your heart you forced your tears away. "Being born." 

Stopping he glanced from the bounty to her. Funny, to be the Granddaughter of the notorious Big Mom and the daughter of Killer Dunes she didn't look dangerous. Actually he thought she was pretty frail looking. Most prisoners here started giving everyone problems the moment they were dragged in but she had not fussed once. The young woman had even picked his pen up for him when he dropped it. Knowing she had been affiliated with Crocodile, one of the prisoners who had escaped the prison before he let out a sigh. Her eyes had not yet left the locket and as he lifted it he saw her small body tense. It was a simple gold locket, old he guessed by the ware on it. Hitting the button on the top of it he saw it open to show two different pictures on each side. One being an old picture of a man, woman and baby. He knew the man to be none other than Killer Dunes, her father. The other side of the locket set a sketch of Crocodile. It was hand drawn but it was good enough that it almost looked like a photograph. "Why him, why Crocodile?" he asked and saw her eyes drop, her fingers fettling with the hem of the baggy prison garb. 

"C..can't help who you fall in love with..." you said in a soft voice. Just thinking about your soulmate that you would never see again made your heart shatter even more. 

Ninety-nine million berry bounty just for being linked to the wrong people. This woman was doomed from the start. She didn't choose this life. Looking her over he let out a sigh. She wasn't likely to make it a month here. Especially since they had her in...glancing to her paper he knit his brows, level five. Scratch that, she wouldn't make it a week. Snapping the locket back close he held it out for her to take. Who was he to take away what would be the last bit of peace she would ever have. 

Hearing the snap and glancing up you were surprised to see him holding the locket out for you. Thinking it may be some kind of trick you didn't move at first but then he pushed it to you more and you reached over to take it from him. "Thank you." 

Nodding he watched her put it back on, seeing her wince as she had to move her no doubt sore body. Once she had it tucked under her shirt he stood from his desk and moved around to stand beside her. 

Being led down another level you at first wondered why Hannyabal didn't take you by elevator but he soon spoke up. 

"You are being sentenced to level five, the freezing hell. Personally I think it's a bit much but it's not my decision to make. Enjoy this last bit of warmth while you can."

Still remaining silent you heard as the screams slowly faded away, only the sound of your rattling chains filling the air around you. As the two of you came up to the large door you could feel the chill seeping through and hitting your bare feet. Taking a deep breath as he reached for the handle you closed your eyes as the door opened, the frigid cold wind hitting your burnt skin. Hannyabal didn't rush you as you walked on the frozen land with your blistered feet. Your body was already shivering violently and your teeth chattered together so much you thought they would crack. Walking by some of the cells you saw prisoners in some of them that looked to be frozen completely. Dead, they were dead. That was your fate. Continuing on you heard as the fair few of prisoners that were still breathing started cat calling you but you only grit your teeth and kept your eyes down. 

Taking pity on the woman he placed her in one of the cells that received the least amount of wind and was mostly cut off from all the others. Opening the cell for her she again gave no fuss as she walked into the cold freezer. 

Ignoring the men as they continued calling to you you walked over to the bench on the back wall and curled up on it, facing the wall. Hannyabal said nothing else as he left you to your doom. 

...........................................

_Screaming out as the long blade sliced through his skin and bone he fell to his knees, his right hand clinging to where his matching one had just been. Looking up at the emperor he didn't get time to speak a word before the man was swinging his weapon again, this time slicing open his face. Feeling the warmth of his own blood run down his face and seep into his clothes he shook as blood lose took over._

_"You come back to the New World again and I'll remove more than your hand." Whitebeard warned before turning his back to the arrogant punk and walking away with his crew._

_He didn't much know of anything else that occurred only the agonizing pain he felt as he came back to consciousness. Looking up he realized he was in the cabin of his small ship, laying in his bed from what it felt like. Trying to move he found his limbs heavy. He could see the bandages wrapped around his face out of the corner of his eyes. At least he could still see out of both. Glancing down to his left arm he looked to the spot his hand should be but saw nothing there. The numb remaining was wrapped in a thick amount of bandages that were spotted here and there with his blood. Hearing a noise he looked back forward and saw the ship's medic coming towards him._

_"Wasn't expecting you awake yet." the man said. "Here drink this."_

_Feeling the man help him sit up and press a cup to his lips he greedily drank at the water he offered. Once he had had his fill he leaned back and groaned as he settled back onto the pillow. Glancing to the left side of his large bed he felt his brow twitch when a thought crossed his mind. "Y...y/n..." he managed to croak out, his voice sounding hoarse. Looking to the man's eyes he followed them when he glanced to the floor beside the bed where a small form was curled up under a spare blanket._

_"She wouldn't take no for an answer. Screamed and hollered until we finally let her in. Boris has a right nasty bite to prove it."_

_Huffing at the information he sighed. As the medic gave him something for pain and made his leave he glanced down again to the sleeping body on the floor when he heard her small noise. Watching her move her hand to rub her eyes he swallowed thickly. "I've told you about biting." he said, his voice still horrible sounding. Still though he saw two sea blue eyes snap up to his own._

_"Croc." her tiny voice called._

_As she stood quickly and moved to his bedside he blinked heavily. Watching as she looked him over, her little lip trembling and her eyes filling with tears he breathed out. "Y/n..." Watching as she curled up to place her head on the bed beside his right bicep he heard her start crying, the sound breaking his heart. "Come here." When she made no move to get into the bed with him he forced his body to move, gritting his teeth as pain radiated throughout his body. Dropping his right arm he scooped her up and used all of his strength to lift the five year old up onto the bed. When he went to situate her with his left hand like he normally would he grunted in agony and heard her gasp._

_"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." she cried._

_Holding her still when she tried to move away from him he slid his left arm up and laid her down in his side. "Hush now. It's alright, don't cry."_

_"B..but yourrr h..hurt..." she sobbed, curling up into the nook of his side._

_His arm was too heavy to hold up so he rested it across his chest and settled for stroking her head with his fingertips. "I'll be alright." he told her. Seeing her still so upset he licked his dry lips. "You know what would make me feel better?" he asked, cracking one of his eyes open when she looked up to him with her teary eyes. Turning his head away from her some he heard her sigh._

_"I'm not a baby anymore I know It doesn't work like that." she told him in a soft voice._

_"It used to work for you.. how do you know it won't work for me?" he asked and then felt her crawl up to peck the part of his cheek not covered in bandages. Grinning as she settled back down beside him, her head laying on his chest he glanced into her eyes and felt that calmness come over him. "See I feel better already." he said and saw her give him the tiniest smiles before it turned into a yawn. "Get some sleep my little star." Making sure she closed her own eyes first he swiftly followed._

_Opening his eyes again however when he heard a noise he let out a gasp when he saw what was now laying beside him. It was Y/n but she was no longer a little girl nor was she the y/n he remembered. This Y/n had dull grey eyes that were sunken in with dark shadows surrounding them. Her cheeks were completely hollowed out and her lips were chapped and thinned out to the point they were bloody. Her soft hair that was before such a fiery red was now dry and almost a greyish brown in color. It looked as if all the life had been drained from her._

_"You let them take me. You didn't protect me. You didn't protect us."_

_Hearing her words he dropped his head down to her stomach that was now slightly rounded under the striped prison clothes. Snapping his eyes back up to her he felt his heart hammer in his chest and his mouth dry out. "No...I didn't mean for it to happen..."_

_"But you let it. You failed me. You are my soulmate, you were supposed to take care of me. Didn't you love me?"_

_Nodding his head he felt that lump forming in his throat. "I did. I do."_

_"If you loved me then why did you let them take me?"_

_Closing his eyes as they filled with tears he heard her continue._

_"Look at me, look at what I've become! I'm dying, our baby is dying and it's all your fault!"_

Snapping his eyes open with a start he bolted up in bed, the blanket pooling to his waist. Looking around the dark room he closed his eyes and moved his hand to rub his face when he realized it had all been a dream. Another nightmare. 

"The last part was you, your own mind taking over." 

Tensing at the sudden voice he readied himself for a fight but when he looked over to the chair and saw the witch, one of the fates there he growled. "And just what the hell do you want?" he all but snarled. 

"Me? Oh I just heard you thinking about all the what if's here lately and decided to show you what it would have been like if one of those were a reality."

"So mental torture then." he huffed as he got up from bed to go get something to drink. Pouring himself a large tumbler of rum he downed it in one go before filling it up again. His own pain reliever. 

"Like I said the last part was all you." she spoke but he didn't respond. Watching the middle aged man for a time she saw him stare at the charcoal picture framed on the shelf. "You miss her dearly don't you." 

"Why do you ask questions you already know the answers to?" he spoke in a stale voice. 

"It's been almost four months Raiden." 

"So your point is what?! I should just get over her?! She is my soulmate, my other half, my... my everything..." his voice although starting off strong and full of anger quickly became nothing more than a quiet sigh. 

They sat in silence again for a while again, her listening to his thoughts until she spoke. "Yes. The answer is yes, she is still alive."

He didn't know wither to feel relieved or grief. While he was glad his darling was still alive it also meant that she was still in that hell. What state would she even be in? 

Tilting her head at the war going on inside of the man's head she sighed. "Would you like to see her?"

Snapping his eyes to the witch he furrowed his brows and swallowed hard before giving a stiff nod. Watching her boney fingers come up and give a snap he was suddenly freezing. No. Not here. Why? What had she done to be put here? Looking around the frozen wasteland he heard voices and followed them. 

"Come on girl. Come over here and I'll warm you up." 

"I know you're hungry.. I got some scraps here, you can have em' if you come suck my cock." 

Gritting his teeth and snarling at the vulgar men he looked into the cell they were all reaching into and saw her. His heart dropped to his stomach when he took her in. Moving over to the bars he went to grab them but passed right through them. Walking over to the bench she was curled up on he glanced her over. She was dressed in the god awful black and white stripes, the ones they had given her practically falling off of her. Her whole body was trembling, her bare feet curled up under her, attempting to keep them warm as best she could. It wasn't windy in here at least but that didn't make it any less cold, he could see the flushed look of her exposed skin. Crouching down beside her he leaned over to look at her face and saw her eyes open. A knot formed in his throat when he saw the frozen tears stuck to the bridge of her nose and her lashes. They almost looked like the ones from his dream, all of the shine and happiness gone from them. Glancing down to her cheeks and then body he saw her skinny and closed his eyes. He knew the truth there was no way their child had survived and even if it had he wouldn't want it to be born into this. The babe would freeze to death the moment it was born.

Hearing her sniffle he looked back to her face and lifted his hand to try and stroke her hair but no surprise, he couldn't touch her. Following her eyes he saw she was staring at her locket that she had opened and placed on the bench in front of her face. Seeing the picture of her parents there and then the small sketch of himself he pressed his lips just above the skin of her temple and closed his eyes again. "I love you my little star." 

"It's time to go Raiden." 

Shaking his head he held his own head above hers, desperate to touch her. "I want to stay, I want to be with her. You can do that, send me to her. I'll go back to that hell as long as I get to be with her."

"No. It is not your fate." 

"I don't care, I don't..." with another snap of her fingers he was back in his own room, the chill from the prison vanishing. Dropping his head low he felt those damn tears drop from his eyes once again. 

...........................................

Laying on the frozen bench which might have well been a piece of ice you shivered, clenching your teeth to keep them from chattering. How you hated the cold. It was so ironic that this was to be the way you died. After all this was how you almost perished all those years ago before Vic found you. Must be fate catching up with you. You couldn't feel your fingers, toes or ears anymore. While you knew you would be much warmer if you had the shared heat of the other imamates you chose to suffer the biting cold versus being raped. Pulling your legs up more and wrapping your arms tighter around your middle to hold what little heat you had around your womb you sighed. Truly you didn't know if you and Crocodile's child still grew there but you had yet to bleed from miscarriage. You also suffered from nausea still even if you never actually threw up what little food you had managed to take in. Pickers can't be choosers.

Sighing out you saw the breath float into the air and stared again to the picture of your love. Your thoughts often went to that of your soulmate. You wondered what he was doing now? You wondered if he missed you. While it hurt your heart to think of him with another you wouldn't want him to be alone forever. You wanted him to be happy and if that meant loving another then you would be okay with that. You wished him a happy life, even if that no longer included you being apart of it. Perhaps if you were lucky and if whatever higher power there was took pity on you then the two of you would be reunited one day after the both of you left this earth. Then again what if he had found another, wouldn't it be right for them to be together. Swallowing thickly you closed your eyes and felt tears fall from your eyes. It was best not to think about that. No matter where he was or what he was doing you just hoped he knew how much you loved him. 

"Hurry the guards will catch on soon." 

Hearing the unfamiliar voices you opened your eyes and turned over some when you heard noises growing closer. 

"Run faster." 

Seeing a group of people run by you knit your brows. The group of people were dressed differently than other prisoners and guards and it was then it hit you, The "Prisoners' Secret Flower Garden. Listening to the prisoners in the cell beside yours beg them for food or to be released you blinked slowly. Going to turn back over you heard someone let out a small yelp and then heard a thump. Turning back you noticed the person had dropped a crate with what looked like fruit in it. You couldn't see much but you could make out a hand currently picking up the dropped fruit and placing it back in the crate. 

"Oh blast this slippery ice." the male voice cursed.

Seeing two of the fruits had rolled into your own cell you turned your stiff body to stand and picked up the apple and coconut before walking over to the bars. Looking down to the man that was crouched down looking around for the fruit you licked your cracked lips. "H..here you go." God your voice sounded awful then again you hadn't used it in who knew how long. As the person looked up to you you felt your breath catch in your throat. 

Snapping his eyes up to the weak female voice he saw a small woman standing there behind the bars holding out two fruits for him to take. Blinking he stood and looked closer at the woman. "You are giving them back to me?" 

Nodding you moved your shackled hands out between the bars to give Bon Clay back the fruit he had dropped. He looked just like he did in the manga and you gave a tiny grin before your lips fell back down.

Taking the fruit slowly he waited for her to try and attack him but none came. Once he had taken the fruit she moved her trembling hands back behind the bars. She looked at him for a moment before she turned to go back to the bench in the back. "W..wait. What's your name?" 

Looking back to him you took in a shaky breath, "Y/n." 

He had seen her before, somewhere but where? "Do you and I know each other?" 

Shaking your head you saw him tilt his head. Hearing the yelling of guards and the howling of the wolves you swallowed and dropped your head. "You should go." you told him, looking back up at him you watched him lift the crate again. Clinging to your locket you blinked again. "It was nice to meet you Bon Clay." 

She knew his name. How did she know his name? Before he had time to ask he heard the snarling of a wolf. Grabbing one of the apples he tossed it to her and took off running. 

Awkwardly catching the fruit you looked down and then back up to watch him runaway. Stumbling back to the bench when one of the wolves looked at you you curled up on it, hiding your apple away until the guards were gone. Once it was clear you lifted it again, looking over it's red color. 

"Hey. Hey baby I'll give you my shirt for that apple."

"Give it here you worthless Bitch."

Continuing to ignore them you took a bite of the fruit and sighed at the taste. While you wanted to savor it you were too hungry and quickly at all of it, including the pit. Not feeling nauseous you gave a huff and moved your arms back over your belly, so you like fruit like your daddy huh? you spoke mentally and gave a small grin, laying your head on your knees you let your mind drift away again, carrying you to a happier place. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments help feed the muse!


	19. Chapter 19

Walking into the stock room Bentham placed down the crate of fruit and let out a sigh. It had been a close call today but they had all gotten what they needed and gotten back safely. Still he was confused about that woman. He knew he had seen her before. She had even known his name. She wasn't like most of the prisoners here, she hadn't begged to be freed or for food. She had willingly given him back the fruit he had dropped. Kindness was uncommon in a place like this, as was manners. Just who the hell was she?

Tapping his chin as he walked back down the hallway and towards the main room he was so deep in thought he hadn't heard one of the occupants of the bar calling his name until he spoke again. 

"Queen Bentham? Is everything okay?"

"Ooo?" he said and then turned towards his friend Ken, "Oh I'm just trying to figure out a familiar face. This woman on level 5, one of the prisoners, she returned the fruit I dropped and knew my name. I know I have seen her somewhere before I just can't place her."

"You don't think she was just acting in hopes you would help her do you?" Ken asked as he sipped his drink. 

"No she didn't seem the type." he hummed. "Y/n...Y/n... where have I heard that name?"

"Y/n... I've heard that too." the bartender spoke. 

"You have?"

"Yea I wait a second..." 

Watching the woman walk away he blinked and looked to Ken who just shrugged his shoulders. As the woman walked back over with an old newspaper in her hand he moved closer to the bar. 

"Yep, here you go I knew I had heard that name before." She said, handing the queen the old paper. 

Taking the newspaper from her he lifted his nose as he looked down at the page and saw the woman's picture, her bounty. "Firelocks Y/n... yes that's her." he grinned. Dropping his eyes down to the other part printed he felt his mouth fall open and his eyes go wide. "Mr. Zero?! She's... oh my.... oh I have to go help her!" he spoke dropping the paper and going to run away. 

"Wait Bentham what's going on? Who is she? And who is this Mr. Zero?" Ken asked, grabbing the queen's arm as he went to run away. 

Showing him the paper he pointed to the woman, "This is her, Y/n and she is apparently affiliated with Mr. Zero..."

"Crocodile? The Ex warlord?" Ken questioned leaning closer to the pictures. 

"Yes. He was my old boss. Oh I cannot just leave here there to freeze to death, I must go help her." 

"But Queen Bentham you don't even know her..."

"It matters not, I like to think Mr. Zero and myself were at least somewhat friends and I can not allow what could possibly be his bonded to perish in that hell." He exclaimed to them. 

"Okay well even if you want to get her out we will have to wait and devise a plan. We can not go for her today not when there was such a close call earlier." Ken spoke, being the voice of reason. 

Sighing and dropping his shoulders Bon looked down. "I suppose you are right Ken-Ken." Snapping his head up he held up his finger, "Very well then in three days time we will go and rescue Y/n." he declared and saw them nod. 

...............................

_"...Without you there'd be no sun in my sky_   
_There would be no love in my life_   
_There'd be no world left for me_   
_And I, baby I don't know what I would do_   
_I'd be lost if I lost you_   
_If you ever leave_   
_Baby, you would take away everything real in my life_   
_And tell me now_   
  
_How do I live without you_   
_I want to know_   
_How do I breathe without you_   
_If you ever go_   
_How do I ever, ever survive..."_

Mumbling the lyrics to yourself as you laid on the bench you stared at the picture of Crocodile with lidded eyes. You were so cold, you couldn't much feel anything anymore but still your arms stayed wrapped around your middle where the warmth was needed most. Hearing a distant sound made you stop your quiet singing. Sighing you closed your eyes, meal time. While you should be excited to get the little food you so desperately needed you hated having to move and listen to the men in the opposite side of the cell harass you. Staying put you kept your back to the guards as they tossed in your cell's food rations. It was strange that you didn't hear the men fighting over it instantly, normally they were like a pack of starved dogs.

Waiting until the guards were gone you finally turned over to look towards the food. Seeing the four men sitting back eating on the half frozen food quietly you furrowed your brows. Glancing down to the floor you saw a small portion of meat and bread still laying there. That was odd, normally they would be trying to reach it as hard as possible, the chains on their wrists holding them to the walls, digging into their skin enough to drawn blood. Maybe they knew they couldn't reach it. They didn't even seem to be paying you much mind. Maybe they finally got the point. Moving your stiff legs over the side of the bench you stood, feeling those pins and needles as you started taking steps over towards the food. As much as you hated moving you had to get the food before it froze to the point of being inedible. Not that it was to begin with but you couldn't complain much, you needed food, your baby needed food. 

Taking a glance to the men again you still saw them eating their own food, their eyes not even glancing your way. Bending down you winced as your joins protested lifting the piece of bread and meat you went to stand when suddenly you saw the men move. Quickly going to run back to your side of the cell you stumbled when your numb limbs took too long to move. Feeling a hand wrap around your ankle you gasped and let out a cry as you were pulled back to the ground. Kicking and struggling as much as you possibly could you stared down at the man that had managed to grab you. 

"Got you now bitc..."

Landing a hard kick to his nose you felt his hand release you and rolled over to crawl away when you were stopped again. "No... let me go..."

"You fucking cunt." the man yelled, holding one hand over his bleeding nose while the other one grabbed her ankle again. 

Feeling another hand grab the other ankle you growled and thrashed but hissed out when you were snatched backwards, your back burning in pain as you were drug across the frozen ground. "No! NO! Let me go!" Yelling you fought then to the best of your ability but it was four against one and you were already very weak. Going to scream you heard them laughing, a hand slapping over your mouth while others held you down. 

"This could have been much easier for you if you would have come willingly when we told you to the first time." 

Still trying to thrash in their hold you heard as their chains rattled and then the sound of ripping before your felt what little warmth the clothes provided get taken away. Tears filled your eyes when rough, cold hands started touching you none too gently. Screaming at the top of your lungs around the hand you closed your eyes tight, feeling the warm tears run down your temples. 

"I get her first." 

Looking up through blurry eyes you saw the larger man, the one with the long beard and messy hair move overtop of you, pushing himself between your legs that were being held open. Seeing him smirk at you as one of his hands moved down you felt true fear take over, your soulmates name coming out as a muffled scream. As soon as you felt the warmth from the man's body it was suddenly gone and you snapped your eyes open at the familiar voice. 

"You bunch of sickos. How dare you." 

Watching as Bon Clay kicked the man in the throat before turning on the others you shook. Scrambling up when you were released you wrapped your tattered shirt around your body as best you could. 

"Taking advantage of a defenseless woman like that." he yelled, swinging his foot across all of their faces. 

Flinching when you felt someone else touching you you snapped your eyes up to see another man. His skin was a medium brown and his black hair was curled upwards into a ball of sorts. 

"Shh it's okay sweetheart I'm not going to hurt you." Ken told the frightened woman as he wrapped the blanket they had brought with them around her trembling form. 

Hearing a splash you turned back to see Bon Clay and a woman tossing a bucket of water onto the group of men who were laying unconscious on the ground. As the two turned towards you you swallowed hard. 

Seeing the slight fear in the woman's eyes he smiled at her. "Come on Miss Y/n let's get you out of this retched place." 

Before you could object you were being lifted up and looked to see the brown man from before carrying you in his arms out of the cell. They stopped only for a moment to close the cell door before you all were walking into the forest that you had passed on the way in. Your heart beat like a hammer in your chest and you couldn't help but still shake as you were carried towards level 5.5.

"Tell me Miss. Y/n how is it you know Mr. Zero?" Bentham asked. 

Swallowing hard you looked to Bon Clay, "h..he is mmmy soulmate."

Smiling largely he clapped his hands together and spun around, "Ooo how wonderful. I knew there was a soft side to Mr. Zero." 

Being carried into a room and sat on a padded table of sorts you saw boxes labeled as medical supplies laying around. There was a screen of sorts separating the room and you started to look around but didn't get to look far before Bon Clay and another man or woman , you couldn't quite tell was walking over to you. The person wore a white lab coat that was cut short and fishnet stocking. Their blond hair was done up into a beehive look and make up was caked onto their skin in what reminded you of the old pin up style. Still their red lips pulled up into a large warm smile as they came to stand in front of you with Bon Clay. You clung to the blanket that was wrapped around you earlier, your body still trembling even though it was rather warm in the room. 

"Miss. Y/n this is Hilda, our medic of sorts. He's going to give you a quick check up." Bentham told the woman and saw her nod. 

"Now honey let's drop this down for a moment so I can look at you." Hilda spoke as he gently pulled the blanket off her curled up shoulders. Seeing the shirt on her torn he looked to Bentham and saw the queen give him a look he understood perfectly. "Can we take this rag off of you?" he asked and gently pulled on the fabric, feeling her slowly release it from her trembling fingers. As the shirt was removed he saw her curl up some, her arms wrapping around her lower abdomen. "Queen Bentham could you get a warm bath prepared." he spoke and saw the man nod and walk away behind the screen. 

Slowly you relaxed a little as the doctor went about looking you over. It came as no surprise that you had a good amount of frost bite but Hilda said that they could fix that with some soaking in warm water. You back had been scraped up when those men had drug you across the ground along with a few other scrapes and forming bruises. The self proclaimed doctor remained kind and patient throughout your exam, pulling a sheet over you when he noticed your bashfulness. He had taken your vitals to make sure there was no other cause for worry but when he had went to feel you stomach you tensed and quickly covered the area with your arms. 

"Did I hurt you honey? Is something wrong?"

Licking your lips you felt your heart beating hard against your ribs. The whole time you had been here you had managed to keep your pregnancy a secret. While no you didn't know if your unborn child was still alive you wouldn't risk something happening to it if someone knew. It was no secret how much you and Crocodile were hated and unfortunately that hate would no doubt roll over to your child.

"Now honey you can tell me, I am a doctor after all and if something's wrong I can help." Hilda told the woman placing his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. Watching as the woman continued looking down for a moment before her teary eyes slowly lifted to his he furrowed his brows until it clicked. Covering his mouth with his hand he felt his eyes go wide. "Ummm Bentham sugar we've got a situation over here." he called, his voice rising in pitch a little. 

Seeing Bon Clay hurry from behind the screen and look to you and Hilda you took a deep breath when his slightly worried filled eyes looked you over. 

"Would you like to tell him or should I?" 

Licking your lips you looked into his make up lined eyes, "I... I'm pregnant." 

"WHAAAA?!" 

..............................

Waiting outside of the room Daz leaned against the wall with his eyes closed and his arms crossed over his chest. He could hear the deep, growl of his Captain inside of the room and sighed as a choking gasp was heard shortly after. There went another one. Standing there for a few short minutes after he heard the thump he pushed off the wall and moved towards the thick wooden door. Opening it he saw only the back of the black leather chair, smoke coming up from behind it. Glancing down to the floor he rose a brow at the drained corpse laying there. "I take it he didn't agree to the terms?" he asked in a calm voice. 

"He thought he could get cocky with me." Crocodile responded in a cold voice. 

Humming Daz moved to the now empty sofa in front of the desk and sat down. "So what now?"

"Find me another person more suitable for the job." 

"You keep killing off people and no one will be willing to work for you." to this he only heard a grunt. That had been the fifth person to face Crocodile's wrath since they had settled on this island. It had been four months and one week since Y/n had been taken, sentenced to Impale Down and since then the man had changed. Crocodile had never been a people person, he was hard to understand and even harder to work for but once the woman had come into their lives he had become bearable, more reasonable. That had all changed now. Y/n had been the only person alive that had the ability to calm the beast that was Crocodile. Most wouldn't have been able to tell the difference but he could, he had known the man for close to ten years. He'd go to say that the man was even more cold now than he was during their time in Alabasta. Loosing his soulmate and child had changed him. When Y/n had been taken he was sure she took Crocodile's heart with her. 

"Why are you still here?" Crocodile asked, feeling the presence of his right hand man still in the room. When there was no response he puffed on his cigar, "If there is something you want to say, say it." 

Opening his eyes that had been closed he stared at the back of the chair and took a deep breath. "You can't keep doing this." 

"Going soft Daz? You never had a problem with the killing before."

"Before it was business, this time you are killing because you think it will help take that hurt away..."

"Daz." he warned, his teeth biting down on the cigar in his mouth. 

"Do you think she would have wanted you to become this? How do you think she would feel if she knew others were loosing their lives because of her.."

"Get out." 

Hearing the man's voice drop to an almost animalistic growl he closed his eyes and sighed. Standing he grabbed hold of the dehydrated body and moved towards the door, stopping in the frame. "She loved you and more than anything she wanted you to be happy."

His response was a blast of sand that was slamming the door closed, leaving him alone in the dim room. He listened to Daz's footsteps grow further down the hall before the sound of the main door being closed filled the empty manor. Staring out the large window he watched it rain, the sky darkening as the hidden sun made it's way below the horizon. Blinking slowly he breathed out the smoke that had been filling his lungs. Happy. She wanted him to be happy. He knew that, she made it obvious, always doing whatever she could to make him smile, to make him laugh. Closing his eyes he let himself drift back to those boring days on the ship. 

_Writing in his log book he puffed away on one of his cigars. Rain beat against the ship that rocks in the rougher seas. It had been raining all day and he wasn't the only one that was bored, the sighing and groaning coming form the bed every few seconds proof enough. "You are acting like a child that can not go outside and play."_

_"Better than being a grumpy adult like you." she grumbled._

_"I'm working." he told his soulmate but heard her only grumble even more._

_"It's so boring."_

_"Draw something."_

_"I don't feel like it."_

_"Read a book."_

_"I already finished them all."_

_Sighing he tapped his pen against his hand, "Find something to do, you are keeping me from my work." It was quiet for a moment and then she spoke again._

_"How much does a pirate pay for corn?" ..... "A BUCK-an-eer."_

_Blinking he adjusted the cigar in his mouth but didn't make another sound._

_"What does the sign on an out-of-business brothel say?" ........ "Beat it, we're closed."_

_Biting down on the rolled tobacco he felt the corner of his lip tug upward but tried to focus back on his log pose._

_"How do you spot a blind man on a nude beach?"... "It's not hard."_

_"How did the pirate get his jolly roger so cheap?".... "He got it on sail."_

_Huffing out he wrote the events in his book._

_"What did one broke hooker say to the other?"... "Can you lend me ten bucks till I'm on my back again."_

_Not being able to stop the small chuckle that left his throat he stared at his book, wondering what it was he was going to write._

_"What the elephant say to the naked man?".... "How do you breath out of that thing?"_

_Closing his eyes he rolled the cigar and shook his head, his lips lifting into a smile that he was trying desperately to hold back. Placing his pen down he plucked his cigar from his lips to tap it in the ashtray._

_"I would tell you a BDSM joke but I'm working out all the kinks."_

_"If blue birds have baby blue birds and Robins have baby robins then what kind of bird has no baby birds?".... "Swallows."_

_Laughing he stood from his desk and turned to walk over to the bed, his soulmate laying on it looking up at him with that carefree smile on her face. Laying beside her he held his head up in his hand, his left arm thrown over her with his hook by her hip. "Are you happy now, you've pulled me from my work again." he asked her. Feeling her hands wrap around his neck, her fingers playing with his hair, he saw her nod._

_"Just doing my job."_

_"And what would that be?"_

_"Making you smile."_

_Huffing he leaned down to meet her lips in a kiss._

What he wouldn't give to hear one of her jokes again. To see her smile, to feel her lips on his. He'd do anything to have her in his arms again. Give up this life, the life of a pirate, the life he'd worked so hard to achieve. He'd settle down on some rural island, work a farm like he did when he was a boy. They'd live a quiet life, raise their child together... probably make a few more. He wondered what they their children would have looked like. Would it have been a boy or a girl, a son or a daughter. He wouldn't have cared either way but he would have loved to have a boy, a son, someone to carry on his lineage. He wondered if they would have looked like him or her, maybe a good mixture. Her eyes though, he would want them to have their mother's beautiful eyes, those striking sea blue eyes that he could spend hours starring into. His favorite time to stare into her eyes were when they were making love, when she was looking up at him with him on top of her. Those beautiful eyes although lidded and hazy with lust always looked at him like he was the whole world, her world. It was a look he would never see again. 

Opening his eyes he stared at the droplets of water running down the window pane. Standing he walked from the room and down the dark hallway towards his room, his cold, lonely bed. Feeling that sharp clenching in his heart he grit his teeth, it was a pain that never fully went away but occasionally would worsen. He knew enough about soulmates to know that it was times like this when she was hurting, that she was suffering. Going to his bathroom to shower he removed his scarf and unbuttoned his shirt before removing his hook. Shrugging his shirt from his shoulders he went to unbuckle his pants when the pain in his chest became almost unbearable. Gripping the counter to hold him upright he closed his eyes. 

CROCODILE!

God it was like he could hear her screaming his name in his head. Gritting his teeth, the pain was suddenly gone and he was left feeling drained and alone. Alone, his inescapable fate.

.............................

Staring down into the steaming water you rubbed your hands over your still flat stomach where life still grew. Your baby was alive. Hilda had confirmed it, he had even let you listen to the baby's light heartbeat. While Hilda had said that you were far underweight and so your baby was most certainly well below the size a normal four month fetus should be it was alive. You and Crocodile's child still grew in your womb. Biting the inside of your lip you felt tears fill your eyes. 

"Did he know?" Bon asked from where he sat a little ways from the tub. 

Nodding you swallowed hard and looked up to the man that had saved you from freezing to death. "We had just found out the night before I was taken. H...he was happy." you said before having to sniffle. Looking down you saw your tears fall to the water, ripples moving out to the rim of the wooden tub. "It's funny, I was the one that was unsure, worried about how he would react but he remained as calm as ever. H..he told me we would be okay... that we would take it on together." not being able to hold back your small sob you closed your eyes. "I..I'm sorry." 

Sniffling Bon shook his head. "No no. Don't apologize it's good to let it out." 

Wiping your eyes with your fingers that you were starting to get feeling in again you took a deep breath. "I think about him constantly... I didn't... before I didn't know if it was still alive. I know it probably sounds horrible but at times I wished it wasn't. It isn't that I don't want it I just... I didn't want it born into this. Now that I know though I... well I'm happy but at the same time it doesn't feel right. Croc he... he won't ever know... our baby will never know their dad. We'll never be a family." you cried. 

Dabbing away the tears that filled his eyes as he listened to Y/n's sorrows he sniffled. Looking down from the broken woman as she finished he blinked. Silence filled the air for a moment before he shot his head up. "Yes he will."

Looking to the Queen you knit your brows. "Wha..."

Standing he struck a pose, "If it is the last thing I do I will make sure you and Mr. Zero are reunited."


	20. Chapter 20

This was it. Dressing back in the itchy, way to big prison garb you closed your eyes for a moment and placed a hand over your lower abdomen. You didn't know if there was a higher power or if they even cared about someone like you but if there was you begged them to let this work. Opening your eyes you walked out of the small room you had been staying in and saw Ken there. The man gave you a small grin and you held out your wrists. You couldn't help but tremble in both fear and nervousness as Ken snapped the shackles back around you. 

"Hey sweetheart it's going to be alright. Have faith in Bentham, if he says this is going to work it will." he told the woman. 

Taking a deep breath you nodded and looked up to him. "Thank you for everything." It had been four days since Bon Clay and the others had saved you from being raped in that frozen cell. In that time Hilda had managed to heal your frostbite almost entirely with long soaks in warm baths. As much as you wished to wash your hair and bathe properly they had told you it would look more believable if you still looked filthy. During your time out of the baths Ken and Margery had brought you food and given you an actual bed with covers and everything. You were pretty sure you had slept through one of those days entirely. Whenever you weren't sleeping or soaking Bon Clay was sitting with you, asking you questions and going over the plan he had come up with to get you both out of here. He had been surprised when you told him about you growing up in a whole other world and how there this world was a book. Later on though he had said that all your knowledge would come in handy. 

"Ken Ken I will miss you so much." 

Looking to Bon clay as he walked in dressed in the clothes of a Marine Captain you blinked. Watching as they all said their goodbyes you stood quietly, not being able to help but feel a little guilty. A lot was riding on this, if something happened and it went wrong there would be a lot of people that would get hurt. Bon Clay himself was taking a big risk, no doubt if he was caught trying to escape twice they would kill him. When he finally walked over to you he must have seen your nervousness and placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder. 

"It's okay Miss... I mean Y/n." he smiled, when he remembered her telling him to just call her Y/n. "I have thought of a fool proof plan to get us out of here. Just play your part and we will be out of here an no time." he told her with a smile.

"I trust you Bon." you told him and saw him smile even larger if it were possible. 

"Ready?' he asked and saw her nod. Grabbing hold of her chains he started leading her down one of the tunnels. 

Coming out of the secret tunnel you kept your head down like Bon had told you to but gave a quick glance over to see that you were in what looked to be medical room of sorts. The room itself was curtained with only a bed and other medical equipment inside however there standing in the corner were a few guards. The sight of them instantly made you tense as you assumed you both would be caught but when they whispered to Bon Clay about everything being ready you realized it was nothing but some of the prisoners from level 5.5 dressed as guards. Not saying a word you let Bon who now had the face of another man, one with blond hair and a goatee lead you out and to the elevator. When you got up to the main floor Hannyabal and a few guards were waiting there. Swallowing hard you felt Bon yank on your chains some, his deep voice coming out as an order for you to move it. 

"It's hard to believe she is still alive let alone carrying a child." Hannyabal said looking down at the woman. She looked even worse for wear now than she had when she had went into level five to begin with. "She doesn't look very pregnant to me." he said, glancing down to her thin body. 

"To be fair though sir the prisoners don't get much food." 

Hearing one of the false guards speak from behind you you saw Hannyabal scratch his chin. 

"Well I suppose that's true." he sighed. Looking to the Captain he rose a brow. "You look a little stiff Captain Leway."

"Just ready to be done with this. A Captain shouldn't have to taxi around prisoners." he spoke, quickly. 

Humming sighed. "Well I'll let you be on your way then. Does the Navy plan on sending her back once they get what they want out of her?"

"If they do I'm sure they will let your know." Bon told the Warden. 

"Very well. I'll keep her cell open just in case. Safe travels Captain." 

Without another word Bon was leading you out of the prison and onto one of the smaller navy warships. Your heart was beating like a drum in your chest as you peeked up from under your lashes and saw dozens of marines staring at you in disgust. You hated the navy knowing you were pregnant but Bon said it was an easy way to get you out of here. As sick as it sounds they would no doubt want to eliminate what they saw to be a continuation of an evil bloodline. You only hoped this whole stunt didn't make the papers, the last thing you wanted was for Crocodile to be hurt. Especially if this all went wrong. Closing your eyes for a moment you tried to get a hold of your trembling. At least with it being near dark no one would be able to see your scared face. 

"Prisoner aboard ship, permission to leave Captain?"

"Oh right that's me... YES!" Bon spoke and saw as the marines started all moving about. When one of them moved over to him and asked if he wanted him to take Y/n down to the brig he quickly spoke up. "No that's alright I don't think she will give us any trouble." he said and saw the boy look to him in confusion before nodding and walking away. Leading her over to one of the crates and making her sit down on it he glanced around to make sure no one was listening before looking back down to her. "Are you still doing okay?" he asked her and saw her nod shortly. "I'm sorry for having to be so rough to you I'm just trying to act act the part."

"It's okay. Y...your a good actor." you told him and saw him smile, the facial expression looking off on the man. Maybe he didn't smile much. 

"Captain..."

Hearing one of the men call him he sighed and looked back down to Y/n. "Just remember to be ready when the time comes." seeing her nod shortly again he slid the key to her cuffs into her hand and smiled a little before walking away. 

Lifting your head after a few moments you watched as the prison started growing further and further away. While you should feel ecstatic about leaving that place you knew the hardest part was yet to come. Closing your eyes you placed your hand over your womb, silently praying that everything would work out. Going through the first doors of justice you watched them close behind you. Noticing the huge whirlpools all around you clenched the key in your fist. How you wanted the heavy things off of you. When they had been off for those few days Hilda had treated the raw skin there as best he could but told you there was a possibility that the skin would scar. Keeping them on your wrists for now you moved your hands right to hide the key better just incase one of the marines decided to look to you. Good thing too because soon enough one was walking over to you. 

"So you're Crocodile's whore huh?" 

Ignoring him you continued looking out to sea all the while clenching your teeth. How you hated that word. You would rather be called anything than that. 

"It's a good thing the Marines got our hands on you when we did, especially knowing you are caring another criminal inside of you. No doubt HQ will take care of that problem though. Wish I could be there to watch." he chuckled. 

Gritting your teeth you took a deep breath to keep your temper at bay. You couldn't react, that's what he wanted. While you wanted nothing more than to punch the white collared prick in his throat there was too much at stake. After a while he only huffed and walked away. Glancing to Bon Clay every once and a while to check for the signal you would see him pretending to play Captain, giggling a little under your breath when he would make faces at the crew behind their back or tap his face to turn back to himself before switching back really fast when someone would look. As the gates of justice came into view you saw him wink at you, that was the signal. "I have to pee." you announced. 

Quickly moving to show Y/n to the bathroom he gave a squeeze of her arm as they passed by one of the lifeboats. 

That was the one. Nodding shortly you continued walking to the bathrooms. Hearing Bon Clay tell one of the officers to come over and keep watch over you watched the brown haired woman walk over. Being led inside by the woman you turned back to see Bon Clay standing behind her. The woman however must have seen your look and went to turn around. 

"Captain is there a...."

Watching as Bon Clay kicked the woman, knocking her unconscious you winced but said nothing. 

"Alright Y/n this is it. You know the rest of the plan. Remember stay quiet and everything will be okay." 

Nodding you saw him smile and then nod, leaving you in the room alone with the woman. Looking down to the lady you sighed, unlocking your cuffs, "Sorry about this." you told her, bending down to grab her clothes. Once you were dressed in the marine's clothes and had shuffled her into your own, snapping the cuffs on her wrists you took a deep breath. Cracking open the door you peeked out to see another walking by. Quickly pulling the door back close until they walked by you opened it again and stepped out, pulling it close. Quietly moving over to the lifeboat Bon had pointed out you climbed inside, tugging the tarp down again once you were laying inside. 

It seemed like time passed by in slow motion as you waited for Bon Clay to carry out the rest of the plan. Hearing as someone yelled out that the ship had passed through the gates again you clung to your locket and closed your eyes, your hands trembling. Picturing Crocodile in your head you thought of what it would be like to see him again, to be in his arms again. You hoped he still wanted you, that he hadn't stopped loving you. "Please. Please just wait for me a little longer Croc... wait for us." you whispered. 

The sound of a cannon going off just about made you jump out of your skin and you slapped a hand over your mouth to keep from screaming. You could only listen as people ran about the ship, everyone yelling and trying to figure out what was going on. 

"Are we under attack?"

"We are taking on water! Everyone down bellow, patch that hole now!" Bon yelled out.

Another cannon going off made you take deep breaths. The footsteps grew faint as everyone went bellow to where Bon Clay had blew holes into the bottom of the ship. Not a minute later did the tarp get ripped off the lifeboat and you snapped your eyes up to see Bon there. He gave you a large smile before placing two large bottles of water into the ship along with a bag. Sitting up you started helping him lower the boat down. You could hear as the crew started yelling but chose to focus your attention on the ropes you were quickly trying to untie. 

As soon as the ropes were free he was grabbing the oar and rowing away as fast as he could. "We have to hurry Y/n, another ship will no doubt come to their aid and we need to be long gone by then." he told her and saw her nod, her own hands grabbing another oar to start helping him. 

When the yelling got louder you looked up to see the ship starting to sink, many marines now on deck and looking around. It wouldn't take them too long to find the officer in the bathroom but hopefully by then the both of you were far away. With it being dark they would hopefully not see either of you. 

"So we are going to Sabaody but after that we will have to figure out a way into the New World were your dear Mr. Zero is." 

Looking up you saw him back in his own body, you much preferred this one. "I think I might have an Idea." 

"Oh?"

Looking up to him you gave a small smile, "What would you say about meeting up with Luffy again?"

"Strawboy?! Oh yes!"

Giggling you pressed your finger to your lips. "Shhh they still might hear us." 

"Oh right." he grinned. Rowing for a moment he rose his brows, "First thing we are doing when we get to Sabaody is getting us some more appealing clothing. I have had enough of these ghastly things." he said and saw her giggle again. 

...................................

Sighing he rubbed his face and leaned back in the chair, stretching out his stiff back. Paperwork always made his back ache. Taking a break he grabbed one of his cigars from the box on the corner of his desk and lit it. Inhaling deeply he closed his eyes and held the smoke in his lungs for a moment before letting it out in a long breath. Opening his lidded eyes he looked over the empty room, his eyes scanning the shelves that he had started to fill with books. _Books she would have loved._ Blinking he dropped his head back to the chair and let his mind linger.

It had been a few days since that intense pain in his chest and since then the usual clenching had turned to a only an ache. It was the first time since she had been taken from him that he wasn't in agony. The feeling that part of him was missing was still there, it never left but he wasn't gritting his teeth just to get through the day. At first he feared she had died, that his star had finally perished in that hellish place. He wouldn't have been surprised if she had, to tell the truth he was surprised she had lasted this long. Especially since they had for some godforsaken reason sentenced her to level five.

That night the pain had struck him he had quickly wrapped a towel around his waist and stumbled back to his office. After looking through every book he could on soulmates he concluded that his darling wasn't dead. 'An immense emptiness.' that's what all the books had said. While yes he felt empty without her with him he also had read that apparently when one's soulmate died the bonding mark would feel cold and his was still warm feeling. To think though that that was what Daz lived with everyday....

No she wasn't dead but something had happened. Something had caused that immense pain in his heart and he didn't want to think of what it might have been. What had caused her scream to echo in his head. Reading that was possibly her calling for him, that his soulmate was so desperate for him that he was able to hear it and he wasn't capable of helping her made him shake with anger. Ever since that day he had been so angry at himself. He had failed her, he had failed in protecting her, his own soulmate. It ate at him every second of everyday. That constant clenching in his heart reminding him of how his failures. Still whatever it had been she was at least hurting a little less since then. Perhaps they had moved her. 

Plucking the cigar from his lips he tapped it on the ashtray and placed it back in his mouth. Leaning forward he reached into the drawer of his desk and pulled out her phone. Typing in her passcode that she had told him when she first started letting him listen to the music on it he saw the screen unlock and the picture of him and her pop up. Leaning back in his chair he tapped on 'gallery'. Swiping through the pictures she had taken he felt the corner of his lip lift up the slightest amount at the one she had taken of him. He was sitting in the railing of the ship looking as serious as ever but she had drew a cartoon red 'pirate' hat on his head and put an eye patch over one of his eyes, because apparently one injury wasn't enough. The word "Arrrgg" was scribbled in the corner. If he had seen the picture while she was still with him he would have no doubt forced her to delete it, thinking it a mockery but now he cherished the reminders of her. How he missed her humor, her playfulness, her carefree nature. Opposites truly did attract. 

Looking over the other pictures he saw ones of him and her laying in bed together, her bare shoulder making him close his eyes, attempting to remember the feel of her skin against his. Quickly moving to the next picture before his desire took over he got to the ones she had taken before they had met. Landscapes mostly, a random video of her walking through the woods, a white weasel of sorts following her making her giggle, the sound pulling on his heartstrings. When he came across a picture of her with an older man he knew it was her old boss, Vic. Funny he sorta reminded him of Garp but fat. The man had a kind smile as he stood beside a much younger version of his Y/n. She had told him before when he head came across it that she was sixteen in the picture. That was just after Vic had given her the job at the bar. She was skinny in the picture, much like she had been when that witch had let him see her in Impale Down. Knowing that she was now suffering the same thing that had almost been her end back then made him frown and bite down on his cigar. If he had found her like he was supposed to she would have never known the feeling of starvation or the cold. 

What was meant to be a lifetime together had been cut to only nineteen months. It wasn't enough. It would never be enough. As much as he hoped they would reunite in the afterlife he knew an evil person like himself had no chance of going to the same afterlife as her. Nineteen months, that was all they would ever have.

......................................

By the time you and Bon had reached the Mangrove forest the both of you were well past your limit. You could no longer feel your arms and you were so tired you could have passed out right there on the ground. "I vote we take a minute to rest here." you panted. 

Nodding profusely he dropped to the ground beside her. "I Agree." However they didn't get to rest long before a loud explosion was heard in the distance. 

Snapping your eyes back open you heard another explosion. Pacifistas. Standing you looked to Bon, "Rest time's over. We have to go now." Seeing him stand as well you looked around. "We need to get to Grove 42 that's where their ship is, that's were they are all meeting at." 

"We are on 47, so says that tree there, we are close." at the sound of another explosion they both took off running. 

You were so tired but you couldn't stop. 45 now, only three more to go. At one point you had started to slow down, your muscles cramping but Bon quickly grabbed your hand and pulled you along with him. 

"Come on Y/n almost there." he cheered. He knew the woman was exhausted, her starved and malnourished body running on her overwhelming desperation to be with Mr. Zero again. 43. Seeing a giant colorful bird flying overhead he blinked but felt a tug on his hand. Glancing back to her he saw her eyes barely open, her other hand holding her lower abdomen. Taking a deep breath and raising his chin he pulled her to him, lifting her up onto his back. "Hold on Y/n." pushing himself as hard as he could he smiled when he saw the number 42 on the tree coming up. "There it is you see. We are going to make it." 

The sound of cannon fire was heard in front of them but then they suddenly stopped. As Bon made it to the top of the grove you saw the sunny, the real sunny. It looked just like it did in the manga. "That's the ship." you told Bon a small smile coming to your face but it quickly fell when you noticed the bubble expanding on it. "No... no we're not going to make it." you mumbled, your voice coming out as a whimper. 

"Oh yes we will. I made you a promise and Queen Bentham always keeps his promises." Running as fast as his feet could take him he saw the people on the ship and a familiar straw hat. "STRAWBOY! WAIT!" he yelled. Seeing the faces turn to them he smiled. "STRAWBOY!"

"BON?! BON!! HAHAHA!" 

Hearing what you assumed was Luffy yell you felt as something was wrapped around both you and Bon Clay and then gasped as the both of you were yanked through the air towards The Sunny. Holding onto Bon until the both of you rolled onto the deck you held your shoulder for a moment, that and your arm always giving you issues since that guard had hit it with the baton. 

"YAHAHA! Bon it's really you!" Luffy cheered.

"Oh it is! How great it is to see you strawboy!" Bon spoke, clinging to his friend. 

Looking up you saw Bon and Luffy hugging each other tightly and grinned lightly but then noticed some of the others looking to you. 

"Ah we all know him but who is this?" Nami asked, her hand on her hip and a raised brow as she looked to the strange woman. Even though she was dressed in a marine uniform she didn't look like one. She was frail looking and her hair was matted and dirty along. 

"This is my friend, Y/n and she needs your help. Oh please say you will help her Strawboy." Bon asked. 

"Sure. Any friend of Bon is a friend of mine." Luffy said with a large smile. 

"Luffy you don't even know her or what she needs help with!" Nami scolded. 

"Well we don't have time to wait around, we get going now or the marines will be hot on our trail." Franky told them all. 

"Then let's get GOING! SET SAIL!" 

"YEAH!!"

Looking up you watched as the ship went under the water and closed your eyes, for the first time in a long time you felt hopeful. Feeling eyes on you you looked up at all of them again and took a deep breath. Standing up you forced your legs to hold steady even though they wished to drop you back onto the deck of the ship. 

"So your name is Y/n huh? Are you some kind of marine?" Zoro asked. 

Looking down to your clothes you shook your head. 

"No we just took their clothes so when we escaped Impale down." Bon told them. 

"How did you escape? The only reason me and the others got out the first time was because of you." Luffy said. 

"Wait a minute. I want to know what it is she needs our help with first." Nami spoke, interrupting them. 

Looking to her and everyone else you licked you licked your dry lips. "I.. I need to get to the New World."

"So you want to hitch a ride?" Zoro huffed. 

"Yes." you nodded. Moving your hands to your locket out of habit you felt your heart hammer in your chest. "I don't have anything to give you but I'll work. I'll clean or help cook or do anything else you want me to. I just..." taking a deep breath you tried to keep your tears at bay. " I promise I won't get in the way. I don't need a bed or much food or anything else but I have to get to the New World so I can reunite with my soulmate again. Please." you begged, tears falling from your eyes. 

Furrowing her brows at the desperation in the woman's voice Robbin tilted her head to the side. "May I ask who your soulmate is?"

There it was, you knew it was coming. Seeing Bon look to you, you swallowed hard. "Crocodile." 

"WHAT?!"

"Crocodile is your soulmate?! Wait who is Crocodile?" Brook asked. 

As most of the crew all gawked and spoke about your other half you looked down. It was very clear what they thought of Crocodile and you heard as Ussop and Nami quickly started jumping to conclusions about you as well. Raising your watery eyes you saw Luffy standing there looking at you, Robin standing in the back some just as quiet as her captain. Holding Luffy's stare for a moment you saw him smile. 

"Sure we'll give you a ride. Haha we're going to the New World anyways so you might as well ride along." He smiled making Robin smile as well.

Feeling a weight get lifted from your chest you blinked and felt more tears fall from your eyes. "Thank you." 

Realizing there was a bit of information they still didn't know Bon spoke up. "Oh but there is something else you need to know." he said, glancing to Y/n. Seeing her look down he took a deep breath. "There is another passenger as well but this one won't give you any trouble whatso ever." 

"I don't see anyone else." Luffy spoke, looking around confused. 

Glancing to all their faces you saw it click in Robin's head first, of course, her eyes going wide before a small grin formed on her face. 

"How far along are you?" Robin asked. 

"Five months... I think." 

"How far alo...oh my God! You're pregnant?!" Nami gasped. 

"Pregnant?! Wow Crocodile is going to be a dad?!" Luffy gawked his eyes snapping to the woman's flat belly.

"I can't picture him as a father." Zoro said with a blank look.

"How's he even going to change a diaper with a hook?" Ussop asked. 

Ignoring the two you looked back to Luffy. "Is... is it still okay?"

"Sure is." he told the woman.

"OH THANK YOU STRAWBOY! YOU WILL FOREVER BE THE KINDEST PERSON I WILL EVER KNOW!" Bon yelled. 

"Don't mention it." Luffy laughed, rubbing the back of his head and smiling largely as always. 

You knew some of the crew still wasn't happy about the whole situation but Luffy was Captain and so they wouldn't question it any further. Looking back down you heard clicking and saw a pair of shiny black shoes stop in front of you. Lifting your eyes you saw Sanji standing there. He just looked at you for a time, not saying anything.

"Chopper."

He called and you looked over to see the small Reindeer, he was so cute. 

"Go show her to the shower room and then give her a quick check up. I'll go make dinner." 

"Yay food!" Luffy cheered.

"Okay. Come on... Y/n was it?" the small voice spoke. 

Nodding you looked down to the doctor. "Yes." 

............................

It was a amazing how much better a person could feel after a proper shower. It had taken two washes but your hair was now all clean and once you got it all brushed out you realized how long it had gotten, the whole way down to your hips. It still looked a little faded and felt off but you knew that was because of your malnourishment. Finally having a good look at yourself in the mirror you couldn't help but furrow your brows. If you hadn't seen Brook for reference you would swear you looked like a skeleton. However there was the smallest bump in your lower abdomen. It hadn't been there two weeks ago so at least you knew your baby was getting some much needed nutrition from the new source of food. Going to pull on the marine uniform you tensed when you heard a knock at the door. Quickly wrapping the shirt around you, you bid the person inside. 

"Hello, Chopper said he thought you were about done so we thought we might come help with your clothes." Robin spoke in her always calm, kind voice. 

"Oh? You weren't going to put those back on were you?" Nami asked, looking to the woman wearing the dirty marine shirt again. 

Opening and closing your mouth you looked down to the clothes. "Y..yes I... well they are all I have." you told them.

Humming Nami moved her hand to her chin and tilted her head a bit. "What do you think Robin?"

"I think I have an idea." the black haired woman replied. 

"Me too. We'll be right back Y/n." 

With that they both left you alone. Blinking you glanced to the door when it cracked open again. Looking down you saw Chopper's blue nose before he looked inside. 

"Are you ready for your check up?" he asked.

"You don't have to do tha..."

"Of course I do I'm a doctor and besides you are pregnant you are supposed to get routine check ups."

Knowing you weren't going to talk him out of it you grinned softly and nodded. Following him to the room set up for medic you went along with all of his instructions. It didn't surprise you in the slightest with how thorough the doctor was. Your weight, height, vitals, blood... everything imaginable was taken and recorded to be followed up with later. He also took measurements of your belly and listened to the baby's heart. 

"I'm going to make you some vitamins to take to help both you and your baby. I'll also tell Sanji which foods are best and which ones you can't have that way he can help get you on a better diet."

"Thank you Chopper but I said I wouldn't bother anyone, that I wouldn't eat too much." the last thing you wanted was for them to kick you off the ship. 

"No Y/n. It's my job as a doctor to take care of anyone who needs it and Sanji won't let anyone go hungry." he told her but saw her look down. 

"Is there anything I can do then, to help you or anything you would like? Something to repay you." you asked. 

"Got any good stories?" he asked with a grin. 

Not being able to stop your smile you nodded. "A few." 

"Okay so these will be a little big on you but it's better than those rags." Nami spoke. 

Startling a bit you looked to the door to see the two women coming into the room with clothes in their arms. When you got done dressing in the black pants of Robin's and stripped t-shirt of Nami's, both of which were baggy on you but way better than the prison uniform and marine clothes you all headed down to the Dining room. 

"She looks completely different!" Both Brook and Sanji said in Unisom. 

As they both started arguing about who had dibs on you, Zoro calling them both idiots and stating that you were pregnant with Crocodile's kid you blushed and cast your eyes down. 

"Would both of you idiots quit it!" Nami yelled.

Sitting beside Bon Clay as he patted a seat at the table you stared at the feast on the table with wide eyes. You had never seen so much food. As a plate was set before you you looked down to see a piece of mouthwatering sirloin.

"For the pretty lady a lean cut sirloin with fresh garlic, thyme and rosemary that's packed with proteins, Vitamin B and C along with a few others." 

Looking up to the chief you gave him a smile. "Thank you." 

"Hey I want meat like that too." 

"YOU EAT WHAT I MAKE YOU LUFFY!"

Giggling lightly at the characters from the manga coming to life around you, you cut a piece of your steak off as everyone took their seat and placed it into your mouth. It was so good you would have cried if you knew Luffy wouldn't start thinking you were a crybaby. You did however quickly complement Snaji on the dish which made the cook smile proudly. Staying quiet as Bon told them about your escape you cherished the first real food you had eaten in close to six months. When Robin spoke up however you snapped your eyes up. 

"So how did you and Crocodile meet, I don't recall you from my time in Alabasta." 

Swallowing the food in your mouth you looked to the woman that had once been close with your soulmate. "I wasn't there. We met after the war. Croc... he... well he fell into my living room." you said and saw them all confused. "It would be easier if I start from the beginning. If I explain my world."

"Your world?" everyone said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long Chapter I know. Please Comment and let me know what you think. Let me know someone is still reading this.


	21. Chapter 21

"Again! Again!" Luffy Cheered.

Humming you thought for a moment before looking to him. "You stabbed yourself under the eye to show Shanks that you had what it took to be a pirate." you told him and heard him laugh loudly while Bon Clay gasped. 

"Do Zoro next." 

"No." the swordsman grunted.

"So in this world you grew up in we are all some characters in a book?" Nami asked in disbelief. 

Nodding you sipped at the fruit smoothie Sanji had made you. 

"Yea and I'm the main character." Luffy boasted with a large smile. 

"That means you already knows how everything is going to go." Ussop said.

"Well not exactly, the story wasn't done yet and I wasn't caught up." 

"How far were you then? How much of our 'story' have you seen?" Zoro asked. 

"I've only read up until a little after you get to the New World." 

"Then you could tell us and..."

"No!" Luffy spoke up, his voice firm. "I don't want to know what our future holds, I want it to be a adventure." 

Looking to him you grinned softly and gave a nod, silently promising not to say a word. 

"Interesting. Would you perhaps mind answering some questions for me about your world later Y/n?" Robin asked. 

"Not at all." you told her before quickly moving to cover a yawn. 

Grinning at the pregnant woman Robin stood. "Come Y/n I'll show you to your bed. I've heard pregnancy can make a woman quite fatigue." 

Shaking your head you went to object but Nami stood up and smiled as well. "Not to mention the hell you went through, I'm sure your whooped. We've still got a ways to go so you might as well sleep while we go." 

"Yes Y/n you need some proper sleep, let's try to get those dark circles faded a bit before you are reunited with Mr. Zero." Bentham spoke. 

Grinning you stood. "Thank you. Sanji I can clean up if..."

"Don't even think about it." the cook spoke. "A sweet princess like you needs her sleep so go on and when you wake up I'll have another healthy snack ready." 

Smiling up at the blond you thanked him again and then Luffy before following Robin towards the rooms, hearing Bon wish you a goodnight. Getting to the girl's room you looked over the room enough to get a sense of it but not so much as to seem nosey. There was Nami and Robin's beds on one side but you saw another bed had been made up as well, it looked different than the others but none less comfy. 

"Here you are, I believe Franky outdid himself given the time." Robin smiled. 

Blinking you looked to the bed with actual blankets and pillows, feeling tears prickle your eyes again. "It looks perfect." you said in a quiet voice. "I really don't know how to thank you all... I wish there was something I could do or something I could give you." 

Humming the brunet tilted her head a bit. "You and Crocodile are quite different from each other."

"So everyone tells me." you grinned, your fingers moving to your locket at hearing your soulmate's name. 

"If I may ask, what is it in your locket? I've noticed every time someone mentions his name your fingers move to it out of reflex it would seem." 

Looking down to the gold locket you grinned and moved to open it and turn it to her a bit as she stepped forward. "I know it's not a real picture but it's all I have." 

Grinning at the sketch of her old boss she chuckled softly. "I think it is wonderful, did you draw it?" she asked and saw the woman nod. "You are very talented." 

Looking down some you grinned a little, "Thank you." 

"I'll leave you to rest now. If you need anything just let one of us know." 

Watching the woman leave you sighed and moved into the bed. Curling up you opened the locket again and looked at the sketch of Crocodile. "I love you Croc." you whispered. Kissing the small picture you closed the locket back and curled up, your hand instinctively moving over your stomach as your eyes closed. Having your belly full for the first time in months mixed with the warmth of the soft bed, it took no time at all for you to fall into a deep sleep.

.............................

"Hey! Hey! Come on don't be dead wake up." 

Hearing the male voice you gasped and quickly started coughing up water. Feeling someone help turn you over and gently pat your back as you coughed you looked up and saw Franky there. 

"There you go. You scared me there for a second." he said with a chuckle. "Hey I got Y/n, she's okay!" he yelled down to Robin and Nami. 

"Thank you." you told the cyborg as he helped you stand up on the large coral. You had completely forgot about how they entered Fishman Island and were fast asleep when the water suddenly swept into the ship. Attempting to swim out you quickly got disoriented and started to loose air. You must have passed out but lucky for you Franky was there to save you. 

"Don't mention it." 

"Y/n are you alright?" Nami asked as she and Robin moved over to you.

"Yes." 

"I wonder where the others are?"

"I'm sure they are safe." i 

"So what now?"

Listening to them all talk you heard them mention going to do their own things and licked your lips as they turned to you.

"What do you want to do Y/n?" Nami asked. 

"I don't think it would be wise for me to go into the city. I've just escaped from prison and well with Big Mom claiming the island I don't want to be spotted by anyone working for her." you told them.

"Why? What's one of the four emperors got against you?"

"I'm well she's my grandmother." 

"Big Mom is your Grandmother?!" 

Nodding you looked down and then back up. "Yes. I've never met her but I know she doesn't like me... in fact I'm fairly certain she wants me dead." 

"But you're her grandchild why would she want her own family dead." Franky asked.

"I've been told I was not approved to be born, my father, her son, went behind her back and married my mother. When she found out they had me she killed them and tried to kill me but I was sent to that other world. Now I think she sees me as proof of a mutiny so the only way to fix it is to kill me." 

"But you're pregnant." Nami said with wide eyes. 

"She was going to kill me when I was a baby I don't think she would care if I was pregnant." you shrugged. 

"How about you come with me then Y/n, I plan to stay out of the city so no one will see you." Robin suggested.

Nodding you gave her a smile. "Thank you." 

"Alright it's settled then. I'll see if I can track down the others." Nami said and with a wave everyone was off. 

Walking with Robin towards the Poneglyph you answered any question she had about your world. You truly didn't mind, Robin was easy to talk to and after being alone in that prison cell for so long it was nice to have company again. It also helped that she knew your dear Croc more than the others and she seemed to enjoy the idea of the two of you being with one another.

"Does Crocodile know you are pregnant with his child?" 

Shocked by her sudden question that wasn't about your world you blinked and subconsciously moved a hand to your womb where that small bump now was. "Yes or rather he did before I was taken. We had just found out the night before." 

Humming she rose her chin. "How is it you plan on finding him once we get to the new world? Do you know where he is?"

Shaking your head you sighed, "No. Before I was taken we were in the New World, sailing from one island to the next. I don't know if he is still doing that or not but I'm hoping this will lead me to him." you spoke, opening your locket and carefully removing his picture to show her the compass underneath. When her eyes went a bit wide however and her brows rose you furrowed your own. "What? What is it?" you asked, glancing down to the compass yourself. 

"Is that a... May I see it please?" 

Licking your lips you removed your most prized position and handed it over to her. She said nothing as she examined it for a moment but when she handed it back you saw the slight grin on her face. Slipping it back on you looked to her for answers.

"I've never seen one in real life but I've heard about them, Heart Compasses. From what I have read they have all thought to be destroyed hundreds of years ago but that is clearly one. The stories say that they will lead the wearer to their destined love no matter where in the world the other is. Many have been killed to be the next owner of the compass, some even charged people to use them. That will definitely lead you to him if it is one but I would keep it hidden for the time being." 

Nodding you tucked the locket back into your shirt. Looking forward you gave a small smile. "I'll leave you to it then." 

Following the woman's eyes she smiled at the Poneglyph before looking back to her travel mate. "Stay close." 

While waiting for Robin to read and think about the Poneglyph you thought about the conversation the two of you had had. You knew what would happen as soon as you got to the New World and knew there wouldn't be much time for Luffy and the others to take you off to find Crocodile, not if they were to keep to their own story. Biting your lip you sighed, there had to be another way. You hadn't gotten much further than Fishman island in the manga but you at least knew where the next destination was. If you could somehow get a letter to Croc maybe he could meet you there. From what you had read News Coos could be paid to deliver private letters but still you would have to be smart about it. The last thing you needed was the World Government getting their hands on your letter. Think.

....................................

By the time You and Robin had gotten back to the Sunny you saw most of the crew there as well, all except for Usspo, Brook, Bon and Zoro but you knew they were at the palace. As the plan was decided you looked to Luffy when he turned to you. 

"Y/n I think you should stay on the ship when we get there. I don't want baby gator to get hurt." 

"Y/n, Firelocks Y/n? Daughter of Vincent Charlotte?"

Nodding to Luffy you saw Jinbe looking to you and grinned at him. "Hello Jinbe, it's nice to meet you." 

"I saw you in the paper months ago. I pained me to know that Vincent's daughter had been imprisoned. I knew your father very well, he was a good man, the only level headed Charlotte I've ever met."

"So I've come to understand." you chuckled softly. 

"Come on we don't have time for this now, you two can talk later." Nami spoke.

Getting aboard the Sunny you took a deep breath, time for the battle. Arriving at the center of the fight you stood on the deck like Luffy had told you to. Although the plan had been to try and keep you and your baby safe some of the fishmen and slaves quickly tried to get aboard the ship and then you didn't really have much choice but to fight.

"Give it up girly, you're surrounded."

Kicking one of the barrels towards him you managed to knock him down and grabbed the broom that had been leaning up against the mast. Swinging it through the air you smacked the nearest fishman in the head with it. Shoving them from the ship and taking out as much as you could your pitiful weapon soon broke and you heard them laughing. Looking up as they formed a semi-circle around you you swallowed hard but before any of them could attack they were being cut down. 

"If you are going to fight pick a better weapon." Zoro spoke. 

Snapping your eyes to the swordsman you saw him jumping back down to the ground and took a deep breath. Looking around at all the fallen people on the deck you caught sight of something and raised your chin. Grabbing the spear you gripped it tightly as you heard more enemies making their way onto the ship. It wasn't your father's but maybe Katakuri would be right. Seeing the fishmen come charging at you you took your stance. You hoped he was. 

......................................

By the time the fight was over you were ready to collapse. Watching as Jinbe donated blood to Luffy you grinned and leaned against the railing of the ship, closing your eyes for a moment. 

"Y/n are you alright?" Nami asked as her and Bon came rushing onto the ship. Looking over all the bodies and then to the small woman she feared she may be hurt but relaxed when the woman lifted her head and looked to them with tired eyes and nodded. 

"You took out all of these people? By yourself?!" Bentham gawked. 

Humming you looked back to Nami, "I broke your broom, sorry." 

"Forget the broom I'm just glad you're alright." Nami laughed. 

Sitting on one of the massive fish between Jinbe and Robin you smile softly at the huge celebration going on around you. Listening as Jinbe speaks to you about your father you sighed. "I would have loved to meet him... and my mother." 

Humming Jinbe places his hand on the woman's shoulder. "They would be very proud of the woman you have become Y/n." Seeing her grin a little and look down he noticed her hand absent mindfully stroking her lower stomach and blinked. "Pardon my forwardness but I must ask. I heard Luffy mention something before the battle about you staying on board the ship so that a 'baby gator' wouldn't get hurt. Tell me Y/n are you with child?"

Looking up at the fishman you nodded. "Yes." 

Knitting his brows he hummed again. "I saw on your wanted poster that you were also affiliated with Crocodile." 

Knowing what he was getting at you sighed and gave a bittersweet grin, "Yes, he is my soulmate."

"I see and is he..."

"He's the father yes." Answering all of Jinbe's questions you saw him shut his eyes and shake his head when you told him about being imprisoned in Impale Down. 

"The fact that you were able to continue carrying your child through all of that shows how determined and strong you truly are, much like Vincent. Crocodile and I do not see eye to eye in the slightest but if he cares for you and your child then I give you my blessing in finding him. I wish I could tell you where to start your search but alas I have not heard anything of him since the war."

"He is good at going undetected." you huffed. There was a bit of silence for a moment as you glanced to the party below, seeing Brook had joined in on the music. Thinking you looked back to Jinbe. "Jinbe, there wouldn't happen to be a way to send a letter directly to him would there?"

Swallowing his drink he glanced back down to the woman. "News Coos can be paid off to deliver private letters yes but they are often looked over by Marines should the Coo cross their path. If they were to find it and see it was addressed to someone as famous and wanted as Crocodile then they would no doubt follow the Coo to his location."

Biting your lip you nodded, "But say I could think of a code of sorts, something that only we would know..."

"Then yes it is possible." Seeing her thinking he raised his chin. "If you get the letter written then I will pay for the letter to be sent."

Snapping your eyes back up you shook your head, "I don't have anything to pay you back with or..."

"I want nothing in return. Vincent was a friend of mine and I will do whatever I can to help his child be with her family again."

Swallowing you blinked away the tears threatening to fall and smiled at him. "Thank you Jinbe, truly." 

Smiling he asked the fish you were on to carry you down further and helped you into the part of the palace that had air in it. Asking someone to bring you paper and a pen so you could write your letter while the rest of the crew took time away from the party. Sitting on the floor you leaned back against the wall with your knees pulled up and the pad of paper on your lap. Looking at the blank paper you closed your eyes and took a deep breath. This was it. Be smart. Think. Opening your eyes as it came to you you started writing your letter to your lost love. 

Sealing the envelope you walked over to Jinbe when you noticed he and the others were done talking. 

"You have it ready then?" he asked and saw her nod. "Very well. I will send it now. I hope it finds it's way. 

"Thank you Jinbe." 

.....................................

Standing aboard the ship beside Bon you watched as Luffy and everyone ese said goodbye, a soft smile on your face. Giggling a little when Sanji and Zoro went at it you heard Bon call your name and looked up to him. 

"I heard Jinbe got your letter to Mr. Zero sent off." he said and saw her nod. 

"Yes I hope it makes it's way to him." 

Seeing her yet again holding onto her locket he smiled. "You will be with him again soon Y/n.... and you too little one." he spoke, bending over to speak to her tiny baby bump.

Smiling you looked down as Bon spoke to your belly, telling the unborn baby how adorable he or she was going to be but how they had to smile more than their father. 

"Ah yes before I forget. For you Ms. Y/n, I along with the rest of fishman island would like to offer you a pregnancy gift. Jinbe spoke to me about your current situation and I would like to thank you for offering your help even in your delicate state. I hear it is customary in humans to give gifts while expecting and so I hope this is acceptable." Neptune spoke in his deep voice. 

Looking up to the king you were a little taken back when he held out his hand, a tiny wrapped box sitting in his palm. Blinking you looked up to him and saw him smiling behind his mustache and gave a smile back, bowing your head as you slowly reached out to take the gift. Seeing the royal family as well as everyone else watching you you licked your lips and opened the box to see a metal box inside decorated with a mermaid and other sea life. It looked to be made of silver and as you flipped the small latch on it and opened it you heard a soft tune start playing. It was a music box. Smiling you looked up to the King. "It's beautiful. Thank you." 

"Hey I want one of those." Luffy grumbled. 

"You're not pregnant!" Nami scolded, smacking the captain in the head.

Listening to the soft melody play out you bit your lip and looked up the huge merman again. "Thank you so very much."

"Of course."

Giving Jinbe a smile and a bow of your head as you left you took a deep breath as Luffy gave the order to set sail. Placing a hand on your belly you closed your eyes, praying to whatever higher power that would listen, asking them to reunite your family again. 

......................................

Sitting at his desk the room was silent except for the sound of the scratching of his pen on the paper. Adjusting the cigar in his mouth he breathed out a puff of smoke around the rolled tobacco. Thankfully there wasn't much else to do as far as this deal went and if everything went according to plan he would make a large amount of money on it. Reading over what he had just wrote he was startled by a sudden tapping at the office window. Sitting up he turned his head some and looked to see a news coo perched on the trim outside. "I've already got a paper today." he told it and turned back to his work. Not a moment later did it tap it's beak on the glass again. Sighing he turned to it. "I don't want one." he grunted. When it still didn't fly off he stood and moved over to open the window. "I'm not buying anoth..." Before he could finish his sentence the thing was pulling out a envelop from his bag and holding it out to him. Just starring at it for sometime he heard the thing make a noise and reached out to take it. Looking over the blank envelope that was sealed shut he saw no name on the front and knit his brows. Lifting his eyes to the bird he took out some money and gave it to it, watching it fly off before closing the window and moving to sit back at his desk. 

The wax seal was made in blue wax and he didn't recognize it. It didn't even have his name on the front of it or a senders. Breaking the seal he cautiously looked inside but saw nothing but a piece of paper, a letter. Pulling it out he flipped it open and knit his brows tightly at the first words. 

_Child of Storm,_

Just what the hell was this? Child of storm, the meaning of his name, thunder and lightning. Rayden. Biting down on his cigar he looked to the next line. 

_I pray this letter finds you. There is so much I wish I could say but I was told to keep it short so let's play a game._   
_Here are the instructions, Open '80's Playlist. First letter of each song. Ready? Go._

His lip twitched for a moment and while he normally would have thought this was some sort of trick he quickly and slightly clumsy yanked open his desk drawer and grabbed his darling's phone. Typing in the passcode he swiped across the screen to her music and went to the playlist she had named. Snapping his eyes back to the letter he saw numbers. Song numbers? Maybe. 

_#78, #99, #63...._

Okay, 78. Number 78. Scrolling down he got to the song title. Purple Rain. First letter. Grabbing his pen he wrote the letter P down. Next number, 99. Under Pressure, U. On and on he went, scrolling to the song number listed. No one like you, N. Kickstart my Heart, k. 

Finishing the list he looked down at what it was he had wrote. 'Punk Hazzard' Punk Hazzard, the island Vegapunk had been using. He knew it was inhabitable now from the explosion. Unfolding the rest of the paper he looked to the bottom and felt his cigar fall from his lips. 

_Until we are together again, Starlight._

Y/n. His star. She had made it out. How? Shaking his head he stood so fast his chair fell backwards. Shoving her phone in his pocket he folded her letter and grabbed his coat. Hurrying from the room he pulled out his den den and called Daz.

"Yes s..." 

"Ready the ship, we are leaving. Now." was all he said before hanging up. He didn't even bother packing a bag. His soulmate was waiting for him and he wouldn't keep her waiting. 


End file.
